I think that delayed gratification is the key financial lesson in both investing and personal finance.
Delayed gratification means waiting longer before receiving the benefits of something.
In investing it means making an investment and then being patient, allowing it to flourish. You don't get the financial benefit of the long-term growth of businesses like Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) or Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) in a month or even in a year.
By holding for many years you get to experience the benefits of those investments. Imagine making 10% on Altium or Soul Patts and then selling a few years ago. You would have missed out on massive gains! You must give your winners the time to deliver.
The same can be said of your personal finances. Delayed gratification is imperative for building your wealth.
When you get paid you can either spend it all quickly or save some for other purposes such as investing, or at least earning interest.
Debt is the financial embodiment of impatience. If you pay for something with debt then that object or service is going to cost you a lot more when you include the interest. If you just wait, save up and pay with cash then your finances will be better off. You'll also feel better about your purchase.
By choosing to be patient with spending money you can save it and snowball it so that it makes your future exponentially better, which will allow for greater spending in the coming years.
Foolish takeaway
It's impossible to know what's going to happen in the future but if you can build the right patient financial mindset then you can reap the rewards as time goes on.
