What Would You Do With An Extra Paycheck?

What would you do with an extra paycheck?  My wife finished her teaching job in May and we thought her last paycheck would come at the end of July.  We were thrilled to discover recently that she would actually be in paid August as well!  My first reaction was to plan another impromptu vacation this summer with the extra money.  Of course then reality set in and we decided to just save it since we’re going down to one income.

Decisions like that are hard to make.  When what you’d like to do isn’t what you know you should do it’s tough to suck it up and make the smart choice.  I guess in this case its short term thinking vs. long term. If we spend it on a vacation we’ll have a fun trip this summer.  If we save the money it will come in handy down the line as we’re adjusting to a big drop in income.

The fear of not having enough money won out over the desire to take another vacation.  We’ve decided to save the money for rainy day.  Of course, just because we’re not taking the vacation now, doesn’t mean we can’t take it at some point in the future.  It may turn out we’re just fine without the extra paycheck and can afford to spend it on some fun.  Only time will tell but for now we’ll sleep a little better knowing we have some extra money tucked away.

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

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