[neoflex]

Great post and oh so true. This philosophy should be used on all aspects of life and if everyone used this mentality the country and economy would be in a lot better shape right now. I have put myself in the credit card hole many times in the past and now we try to use cash for most things to avoid that mistake again. I have been working my ass off to get rid of a lot of dumb bills with side work and it has worked and I feel so much better knowing I can pay cash for things now and can put money into savings again. As far as my Cigar budget, it is almost Nil these days just with the economy being the way it is and the fact that there have been major layoffs at work and you never know if your up next. Went a little crazy this month with a handful of purchases but I did it as sort of a reward for myself for working so hard the last year but overall I have cut my purchases down a lot but than again I could probably honestly go a year without making a single purchase and still have plenty to smoke. Yet another reason why I have slowed myself down.
Just don't do this with cigar purchases. Use it in every purchase of your life. Hell, I hate seeing the people in my neighborhood who over bought and than can't afford to do basic landscaping or improvements to their homes because they are house poor. Again, if everyone learns to budget a little better and not over extend themselves than the country as a whole will improve financially. Unfortunately, most of us learn this the hard way. I know I did.