Know what you’re saving yourself from

A colleague at work was twisting my arm to get an Xbox 360 so that I could “play with all the cool kids” and get my butt handed to me in the new Halo game.  This was after telling him that I already had a Wii.  As a parting shot — he knows I write on this blog — he suggested to me that it would save me money because I wouldn't be going out all the time for entertainment.

I've heard this before.  Actually, I've read this before.  It's a play out of Alan Corey's A Million Bucks By 30.  He bought a Sony PlayStation to cut down his entertainment expenses:

I decided that I would first cut down on my entertainment expenses … I immediately went out to the store and bought a PlayStation for $300.  This may seem backward to many, but my logic was sound.  A night out in NYC cost me a minimum of $30 for dinner, cabs, muggings, or other miscellaneous expenses, but most often it came out to around $50.  If I had an alternative form of entertainment instead of spending money out on the town, I could choose my PlayStation and save money in the long term. (From Alan Corey's A Million Bucks By 30)

So yes, me getting an Xbox 360 would save me money under the appropriate circumstances.

But that's exactly the point.  My circumstances aren't appropriate for me to save money with yet another video game console.  I don't have to save myself from runaway entertainment expenses.  If anything, this would undermine my financial well-being.  Here's why.  I already have enough distractions in my life. My computer blocks game sites.  Zynga is pure evil.  I could spend hours on Texas Hold ‘Em hardly batting an eye.  Tetris Party is bad enough but at least I usually play that with my wife, so it doubles as family-bonding time.

The bottom line:  I need to save myself from distractions from productivity.  Distractions mean less money coming into our coffers.  This I know.

What do you need to save yourself from?  It may or may not be about money.  How will you do it?