Years ago, I established a spending rule for myself. If there was something I wanted and it cost under $20, I bought it.

No research. No sleeping on it. No guilt.

C’mon, it’s just $20. My time is worth a lot more than that. So why spend any of it second-guessing or worrying about spending too much on things I might not need or use?

Capiche?

I shake my head in amazement reading app reviews or book reviews by people complaining about wasting $3 on something they didn’t like or didn’t use. I know, it’s their $3 and they have the right to say what they please. But seriously? If you don’t like it, throw it away. Move on. Stop embarrassing yourself.

And next time, read the damn product description before you click the buy button.

Anyway, I buy a lot of books using this rule, because, well, books. I don’t read all of them and I don’t get a lot out of all of the ones I do read, but I have another rule for that: if I get one tip or idea from a book, it was worth it.

Now, my rule only applies to one-time purchases. If something is $20 per month, that’s a different story. I’m much more careful. Thrifty, even. I take my time. I do my homework. I read reviews and think about whether I really need the item before I make a decision.

Because one-time purchases, even relatively big ones, usually don’t do as much damage as ongoing expenses.

Maybe you spent too much furnishing your office. I’ve done that. At a time when I could ill afford it, I spent thousands more than I needed to. (Keeping up appearances, and all that).

It wasn’t smart but it was a one-time purchase. One and done.

Overhead is another animal.

A hundred dollars a month here, $50 dollars there, before you know it, you might be wasting thousands of dollars a month.

And that could make a big different to your bottom line.

In sum:

One time purchases, especially small ones? Live a little.

Ongoing expense? Get your Scrooge on.

Here’s the formula for building a profitable law practice