When to spend money
I admit it: I am a cheapskate. I don’t like spending money. Not mine, not my business’, not my clients’.
In some ways this is my biggest strength. For example, I have build a small company with miniscule overhead costs (besides salaries) by having a “virtual office” where everyone works from home at their own expense.
On the flip side, in some ways this is my biggest weakness. For example, I have built a small company which requires a huge amount of management because we have a “virtual office” where everyone works from a different location.
So how do you know when it makes sense to dig into your pocket and shell out some money? I am not an expert but I have one way of knowing which is for sure correct: I spend money if I think it will make me more money.
If you have read my earlier posts here, here and here you will see that I stress the importance of getting one’s investment back. Preferably very fast and many times over.
A risk-reducer is if you can get your money back or only pay after you have given the product or service a try. I asked for refunds 2 or 3 times. I spent a bundle (sometimes over $1000) on products with money-back guarantees. If I honestly didn’t think the product was worth the money, or at least wasn’t what I was looking for, I requested my money back and it was promptly refunded. In my experience if you deal with a well-known firm they will be professional and will not give you any problems about refunds lest they tarnish their reputation.
So my advice in a nutshell: When reviewing a product or service, look for something that is not a major expense (if possible), is LIKELY to make you your money back fast and many times over, and preferably has a money-back guarantee or a delayed payment option that you can rely on.
If you have all that, spending the money should be a no-brainer.
I plan to write about 2 recent examples of this in my next posting.
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