Monday, January 14, 2008

$20 RIGHT NOW or $100 A Year From Now

This question popped up on Steve Pavlina's forum and it really caught me off guard. The original question "$20 Now or $50 a year from now" and for me, $20 right now is better than $50 a year from now. But what if it was $100? $100 is substantially more than $20, and the patience of a year for $100 could be worth it. So readers and visitors, which would YOU rather have: $20 right now or $100 a year from now, and why?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I actually had a similar situation a few weeks ago. I signed up for a cash-back credit card that promised me $100 back the first time I use it to make a purchase.

So when I went to claim that reward, I found that if I wait to get to $200 due in rewards, they will give me a $50 bonus. So I could get $100 now, or $250 later. I opted for the $100 now because I'd already budgeted for it, but, delayed-gratification expert that I am, I will be waiting for the $250 for sure next time around.

Enjoyed the site, keep it up.
- Eric

Anonymous said...

Hi Meg! Thanks for visiting my blog.

To answer your question, I'd take the $100 a year from now. I'd even take the $50 a year from now. This is the way I think about it: If I got $20 now and put it in the highest yielding savings account I can find, it would still only be about $21 a year from now.

I think the situation is different if you really, really need that $20 for, say, food. But since I can just take $20 from savings to fill my need now, I'd definitely wait for $50 or $100 a year from now.

Anonymous said...

I can wait a year fir the $100.