The only thing we should not postpone for tomorrow, are things we want to really do today! To illustrate, I’ll use a personal example. Note that when I mention music systems and plasma / LCD screens herein, don’t read them as electronics but as what they signify, which is stuff that I want and wish to do…
I’ve always been a music lover, and back in school, I’d even study listening to music. I would always aspire to get a better music system, since I enjoyed music so much! I just recollected the years as they have passed since then. I rated each of the music systems that I had over these years and compared them to the amount of time I used to spend listening to music.
Following table summarizes it (** explained in the annexure)
As I had the means to get better and better stuff, I had lesser and lesser time to enjoy it. While, I have used to music analogy to depict it above, it is true for all aspects of my life… say movies, with my limited allowance in college, I would have to budget and see only 1-2 a month, and now, that I have the means to see almost every movie that gets realized, I do not have the time (or the company of friends…) to do that!
I therefore resolve, to start living in the present and buy that Plasma / LCD big screen TV now, when I might be able to hook it with my ONKYO Home theatre and enjoy it for some time, rather that to postpone it in future, where, I may have no time…
If there was a way to siphon the funds from my present (2006) to my school/college days (1997-2002) then, I it is a no-brainer that I’d do it – but this If *(Hindi mein – agar) is a foolish wish. It is not possible. What is possible however now, is to approach lending companies like Citifinancial / GE moeny etc… which will allow me to buy that Plasma / LCD screen now, for Rs 150,000 and pay it over the next 2-3 years… basically siphoning funds of my future (2008-2010) to my present…
Is there merit of living off ones future income today?
Should one give in to ones impulses?
** ANNEXURE Explaining the table:
1997: 
I had a Sanyo mono tape recorder (for non audiophiles – mono means only one speaker, so both right and left channel come from the same speaker.) It was in an almost broken down state, playing cassettes at 1.25 times the normal speed, hooked to a radio for amplification.
1999 
I had a Philips powerhouse (AW-537), a 200 W PMPO system, which was reasonable decent though not state of the art. It could only play only cassettes.
2001
I hooked a VCD/MP3 player to the powerhouse, which enabled it to play MP3 CDs as well.
2003
Within a month of joining Citibank, my first employer, I bought a state of the art, Philips VCD/MP3 player with 7600 W PMPO of output, fully functional remote and 10 speakers and 2 independent woofers housed in 4 speaker boxes. It was everything that I had imagined my perfect music system to be.
2005
I wanted more fidelity, a clearer sound. Moreover, stereo sound wasn’t good enough anymore as I wanted a 5.1 channel output (for non-audiophiles, 5.1 means, 2 front speakers, 2 rear speakers, 1 central firing speaker and 1 powered sub-woofer.) I Selected and bought, ONKYO HTS-570 (*home theatre in a box). It was a state of the art, with such a realistic sound experience, that when a 5.1 encoded DVD would be played, you could hear guitar from one speaker, female vocals from other and male vocals from yet another one… This was a dream come true! I could hardly listen to it for an hour or two on Sundays, (making it an almost zero hr average on a daily basis) and when I changed jobs and it got packed and moved to Gurgaon. I haven’t even had time to unpack it with my CFA, new job and frequent travel.