Every once and a while we receive some amount of money we didn’t really expect. Maybe when you get married a distant relative writes you a large check. Perhaps you’ve received what we’ve come to call “birthday money”. If you’d like, you can lump your tax return in with this category. I’m talking about any amount of money that you weren’t expecting to have.

Now for the question… What do you do with this money? I would guess that most people see it as an opportunity to splurge.

“There’s this great new steak house that I’ve been wanting to try.”
“Now I can finally get that outfit I’ve had my eye on.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Florida, and now I can.”

These are the types of things I hear people say all the time. Perhaps you see yourself in some of these statements. What I hardly ever hear are things like these:

“I think I’ll buy some stock in Company X; I’ve had my eye on them for a while now.”
“I’m going to pay off my credit card once and for all.”
“There’s this person I know who could use a little help. I think I’ll make their day.”

Obviously whatever you decide to do with your money is solely your business. I submit though, that some of these attitudes and decisions have a lot more to say about you than just your money management skills. Next time you are on the receiving end of a little extra cash, give some serious thought to what you’d “really” like to do with it.

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