Are you going broke? A lot of people seem to live from paycheck to paycheck these days. They’re always short in money by the end of the month and somehow they’re always surprised. How can you expect to have more money if you don’t change your spending habits? I’m not surprised that some people are always short in money when I hear them talk about their lifestyle. There’s also a hidden danger behind this lifestyle. Those people mostly hate their job but they can’t change because they need the money to survive.
Note that this blog isn’t for people who still go to school but they can learn a thing or two to make sure that they don’t make the same mistakes as most people
Why you’re going broke and it’s no joke: the quest for pleasure.
Most people lose a lot of money during the weekends and they don’t even realize it. You’d be surprised how much the constant partying will cost you and you didn’t even go out eating yet. You didn’t visit the theaters and so on. Most people are throwing all their money away to make sure that they’re not bored. That’s the purpose of entertainment and all the other pleasures in life. They make sure that you spend a lot of money but you’re not bored so that’s a win-win right? Well I write this blog at the end of the month so tell me, was it a win-win situation or wast it just momentary happiness? Did the instant gratification suddenly turn into long-term frustration?
Are you hating me already? I bet you do.
Why you’re going broke and it’s no joke: trying to impress people.
A lot of people buy things to impress others. People who go into debt to buy a big car is a nice example of this. It’s just momentary happiness that turns into hell over time. You spend money to impress people but that’s what other people do as well. So they’re so busy with their things that they won’t even notice what you’ve bought. That’s the sad reality. You’ll have to go completely overboard and guess how that’ll end! That’s right you’ll feel just like your bank account: empty.
So what do I do when people try to impress me with stuff?!
I once had a guy who tried to impress me with a thing. I noticed it right from the start because he wanted to make it obvious but I didn’t react to it. So I didn’t do it because I just didn’t care. Eventually, he asked me if I noticed his new toy just in an attempt to impress me. It was pretty sad, to be honest, and it had the complete opposite effect. He tried it a couple of times more with other dumb material things and eventually just moved on to other people. I’m pretty sure that he isn’t happy but that’s just a guess.
In conclusion: show me what you know and not what you have. You might have the newest iPhone but my operating system is iDon’tcare. How about that?!
Why you’re going broke and it’s no joke: luxury.
I had a small room when I traveled to Stockholm. The room was even smaller than the room that I have at home. But I was extremely happy. People always want the 5-star hotel with the swimming pool and the sauna and the cinema and so on. It has to have everything but in the end, they’ll use nothing of it because they’re constantly visiting the city or tanning with a view. You don’t need that much luxury. You’ll be a lot happier when you sleep in a tent in nature than in an oversized bed in a 5-star hotel with tons of stuff that you don’t need.
Why you’re going broke and it’s no joke: brands.
This goes back to the fact that you’re trying to impress people. People buy brands to impress others. They want to look rich while they aren’t. Now here comes the big joke. I once had the opportunity to meet up with a wealthy guy. I was able to pick his brain and at a certain point, we talked about clothing. The guy never bought brands except for his suits because they were tailored. But sometimes he would wear brands because they paid him too. Brands are pretty smart, they give away stuff to people which others look up too. You’re probably smart enough to figure out the rest. Spend your money more wisely.
Why you’re going broke and it’s no joke: too much stuff.
Some people have a laptop, desktop, tablet, cellphone and so on. You get where I’m going right? People spend way too much money on stuff that they don’t even need. But that makes sure that you lose a lot of money since all your collections, whether it’s clothing, electronics, video games.., cost you a lot of money.
But I have a simple rule that might help you out.
Enter the 72-hour rule.
I forgot where I’ve heard of this rule but it’s pretty simple. Go check out the thing that you want but don’t buy it. Wait 72 hours and you can buy it if you still want it. You’ll notice that you’ll spend a lot less money. So think twice before you’re going to install a home gym. You might think that you want it but do you? Are you going to use it at least 4 times a week? Be honest with yourself, it might save you some money.
Why you’re going broke and it’s no joke.
Shouldn’t you learn how to save money? You already know how to spend it and look how that turned out. Not so good did it?! The first thing that I do when I get my paycheck is putting money aside. I wonder how many of you even thought about it. Most people just think about what they can buy as soon as they have a new paycheck and they don’t know the difference between investing and wasting money. But that’s a topic for another time.
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Till next time
Alex
