Protecting our cherished desires

I'm reading a book by George Clason called 'The Richest Man in Babylon', which i recommend to anyone who is struggling to save or even make ends meet. Through several short stories, he shows principals (many of them Biblical) of budgeting and how to save and create wealth. He also shares some concepts on reducing expenditures we sometimes consider nescessities.

One statement in this book impacted me in a deeper way. The main character states: 'A budget helps you realize your cherished desires and protect them from your casual wishes.' How true this is. For example, if we budget for our cherished desire to buy a house, we might need to cut a casual wish to buy a sportscar. If our desire is to buy a car, we may need to forgo a casual vacation to Jamaica (unless that's our cherished desire).

We need to make choices, as there's a limit to what desires we can meet. 'All men are burdened with more desires than they can ever satisfy' the main character states. Even if we have sufficient finances, we are still limited by time, enegry and ability. I've said this before, God has never called us to do ALL things! We should budget our resources, and keep good financial, time and health margins, as Dr Swenson explains well in his book 'Margin'.

This brings me to the question: What are my cherished desires? And how much do i spend on my casual wishes? Are my casual wishes eroding my goals of attaining my cherished desires? I propose we take this a step further than just financial implications. What about our health? Does my casual wish to have that piece of cake erode my desire to loose weight? Or my wish to relax in bed over that morning work-out? Does my casual wish of watching TV erode my desire to read, study and get educated? Is my wish of having many casual friends eroding my desire for deeper and closer relationships? Does my wish to procrastinate with work erode my cherished desire for rest?

Not only should we budget our finances, but 'budget' (discipline) our wishes in a way that we can attain the desires of our heart. Our resources are limited, so we need to make wise choices. Are we counting the cost of our casual wishes vs cherished desires? And if we do, are we truly protecting the desires of our heart?