just wait and see

There is a concept I learned in accounting called the “Matching Principle”, the idea is that you should pay for short-term costs with short-term financing and long-term costs with long-term financing. It is a pretty common sense principle and everybody in some essence follows it (i.e. you don’t pay for a house with your credit card, you get a mortgage).

As with most of the things I learned from accounting, I have found that they are mostly based on “Real World” principles applied to the recording of business transactions.

So this Financial Matching Principle is a general rule applied to spending money, the more general rule being that you should match short-term problems with short-term solutions and long-term problems with long-term solutions (A cost is a problem where financing is the solution).

This rule, lets call it the problem matching principle, isn’t a hard and fast rule that you can’t break. It is mearly a very solid indication of what the best “Solution” is, and breaking the principle is simply going to cause headaches in the future.

However I find that many people do actually break this rule, probably not on purpose but just because they just let the solution happen rather than actively trying to solve the problem.

So to clarify, if a solution to a problem isn’t sustainable, then it is a short-term solution. For something to “permanently” fix a problem, it has to be possible to envision it there for the rest of your life (Or however long the problem lasts).

I’m going to apply this to working (As usual). There is a difference between working and a career, the difference is in time scope. You “work” in a crappy job you hate to pay for your trip overseas in 6 months time. You find a “Career” to settle down and pay off a mortgage.

So if you have a cost that is a short-term thing, then working to pay it off is alright. If you have to cover something permanently, you need a career.

Similarly your health is a problem that needs to be accounted for. It is a long-term problem, something that you have to think about for the rest of your life (With a high correlation to the actual length and quality of your life). Putting off exercise and healthy eating is a short-term solution to this problem. Which you can do if you want, but it will cause headaches in the future.

If you stop and think about what the outstanding problems in your life are (Everything that can possibly cause you pain) then list them down, you should be able to see what is a short-term problem and what is a long-term problem. Normally short-term stuff, like having a cold, or an annoying neighbour, will go away without any action. But you really should make sure that you are having sustainable solutions to your long-term problems (Or not, its your life)