where do i put a next action to buy something when im waiting to get the money to buy

[chris5854]

if i have something i want to buy but i dont have the money to buy it yet where do i put that next action while im waiting to get the money, do i put it in someday maybe?

thanks in advance for any help

[nick_ross]

The way I handle this is to have a number of seperate someday maybe lists - including one for 'Things to buy', one for 'Books to read', one for 'Films to see' and one for 'Places to go'

You can then use the lists as a collection of 'treats' when it's your birthday, or you find a spare £20 note down the back of the sofa...

HTH

Nick

[Myriam]

If you are really sure you will buy this item and you're only waiting for some specific money to come in, you might put it on a waiting for list. I would write "WF: money xx to come in for buying yy"

Another approach might be the tickler, where you advance it to the period where you expect the money might come in.

Myriam

[cwoodgold]

Put it where you'll see it when it's most useful for you to see it. For example, it might be useful to see it just before you might spend money on something else, so that you can decide not to spend the money on the other thing but save it for this instead. If you tend to go out shopping on Saturdays you could look at a list of things like this just before you go out, to remind you not to spend too much. So maybe in a tickle file for Saturday (or Friday if you look at the tickle file in the evening). Or, put it in the tickle file for the day you expect to receive a paycheck or bank statement, when you might discover you have the money. You could save up for it by putting some money now and then into a separate bank account or into a physical jar, or keep a record of what some of the money in your regular bank account is being set aside for.

[chris5854]

thanks for all the help I was wondering about the waiting for list, im not sure whether or not with the waiting for list you can put the next action that is being held up on what your waiting for along with the item your waiting for, or if your only supposed to put on the list the item your waiting for

[Oogiem]

I have a separate list of things I want to buy someday and if I get some sort of windfall I peruse it to see if anything is still wanted and if I now have the money.

It reduces impulse buys and keep the stuff you really want accessible.

[S-Tolland]

Chris,
I do sometimes add the follow-up action next to my waiting for item, particularly if I don't have any detailed project plans to refer to. My rough rule is to keep it short - often it is just a reminder of where I want to go next. When I add the action to my action list, once the WF has come in, I will flesh it out properly.
Hope this helps.
Sarah

[jesig]

Here's a critical question for you: is the money for the full amount of the item coming in, or is this actually something you're going to need to put some effort into saving for?

If you're expecting the money to come in on X date, then put a follow-up on your calendar or in your tickler file that date, or just before, to remind you that the money is earmarked for this item.

But if you need to save for it? You've actually got a project on your hands called "Save money for thing."

For instance, my car potentially needs a new catalytic converter. I'm a living-on-a-shoestring grad student. An $800-1500 car repair is a little out of my budget. But I need to pass my inspection, so this is definitely a project to be done as soon as possible. Since I do my weekly review on Fridays, which is also payday, one of my steps in my WR is double-checking my finances, and tucking away what I can toward things I'm saving for. So I essentially have a recurring NA on this project of, "Put as much money aside from paycheck as possible for catalytic converter."

If you're not invested in doing this on the item, then it's probably a someday/maybe item and belongs on such a list.

I find that thinking about purchases as projects vs. someday/maybes this way is more useful than the typical personal finance "wants vs. needs" hierarchy. Either an item is something to be bought as soon as possible, and I need to move on saving for it, or it's not, in which case it belongs on the "if a big bag of money lands in my lap" kind of list. Sometimes "wants" end up on the projects list. Yeah, I didn't need a Blu-Ray player. But watching Netflix on my TV was a sufficiently attractive benefit that I found it worthwhile to make saving for a BR a priority, and I've had my BR since March.

[Myriam]

"if a big bag of money lands in my lap" kind of list.

this must be the one list we all have, be it written down or just in our heads

[Noel]

I would not use waiting for lists for this. That's reserved for things that are on somebody (or something) else's plate. For me, waiting for's are not things I do, but trigger of things others do.

If it's something you're definitely going to buy and your system lets you create actions with a future start date I would create an action there if it's clear you'll have the money by a certain date. If your system doesn't let you do that, then a quick note on your calendar is ok also.

If you don't know when you'll have the money or you're not certain if you'll buy it when you get the money, then I would put it in a someday maybe list which you'll see in your next weekly review.