One timeless solution is thrift. For the past few weeks I’ve been implementing rigorous self-austerity measures that are so disenfranchising they would make George Osborne look like a socialist. My friends hate me because I refuse to do anything that involves spending money – so, I pretty much refuse to do anything at all! I’ve even adopted phrases like: it’s not “fiscally pragmatic” or “economically rational”. The trouble is, when you become stingy, it’s almost impossible to stop. Your mind-set changes: you become anxious and conservative – questioning the affordability of everything and calculating your budget down to the penny.
If your budget is anything like mine then it could potentially reflect the larger economy. A brief flurry of affluence usually entails high levels of spending (and thus happiness); quickly followed by a (predictable yet unpredicted) financial crash and consequent penury. The worst part of it is that I honestly don’t know where the money goes. I should really start keeping receipts and try to close the monetary vacuum.
Believe it or not, I am in fact employed. But wages tend to be spent before they’re earned. There is a tinge of envy for those who seem to have an infinite flow of cash but don’t appear to have a job; especially when you suspect they have a current account with the Bank of Mummy and Daddy. Nobody can judge who deserves what and when. But, in my mind, I take the high ground and remember that every penny earned is worth more than every penny borrowed.
Perhaps unlike
George Osborne, I am looking forward to the end of my austerity policy. As soon as I have accumulated sustainable
savings I will be able to spend money again.
But this time, I won’t be caught out when the river meets the
waterfall. I think long term money
management is in order so I never have to panic about my finances again. My plan is simple: no more impulse buying,
save at least some money, and when buying something I’ll need to ask myself if
I actually need it or do I just want it for the sake of it. That advice isn’t new; it was given to me a
long time ago. I just haven’t had the
willpower to follow it. I believe this
is a path us students must take to make it to adulthood.
Money
is deceitful - it will play tricks on you.
It’s arguably the greatest manipulator of human beings. No other external force has so much control
over our lives: always on our minds, in our pockets, and often dictating how we
feel. But even more so, it can have a
direct effect on our actions by deciding what we can or can’t do – our fate is
often decided by numbers. Some people
know this and they understand it; they use that knowledge to varying degrees of
good or bad, practical or wasteful. But
right now, we don’t really need to worry about money because we never have any
to fuss over!
No comments:
Post a Comment