On another frugal forum where I read I saw someone post about the idea of "future me." The gist of it is that when you are out and about spending money or trying to find "extra" money, that you put it in the context of your future self. For example, in ten years your future self may need an extra $50 for a tank of gas to go to the grocery store. Or, in 20 years your future self may need an extra $200 to fill a badly needed prescription, etc.

So, just like if a good friend needed $20 to fill their gas tank so they could get to work (and you knew they weren't being frivolous with their spending...) you would find a way to come up with the $20 to help them out. Or if your parent needed $50 to fill a very necessary prescription ... you'd find a way to make that happen.

In the same vein, another person suggested looking at your health in the same way. Yes, eating this donut right now might sound really good to Now Self, but is it helping future self be more healthy? Sitting in front of the tv for several hours when you get home from work may sound good to Now Self, but what could you do for your future self - to make your future self more healthy?

Anyway, I thought it was a really neat way to look at both financial and other everyday decisions - to not consider the consequences/benefits of only NOW, but to factor in Future consequences/benefits. Somehow I think if I did this more, I would make some better decisions - both financially and healthwise.

What do y'all think? Does this make sense to you?