How to spend money determines whether you can avoid unnecessary problems

[PrivacyG]

Can totally relate to your post.  OP, this is a problem for every body including the poor and the wealthy.  There is a complete lack of common sense and this is why I never get to emphasize with people who always cry out loud about not having money.  They go clubbing.  They pay for cinemas every other week.  They go to pubs about every day and drink lots of stuff.

If I added just the daily pub goings, I probably get a total sum of over a hundred Dollars per month spent on pretty much comfort and convenience.  Then they say they can barely afford food and normal living.  I think going out every single day is a luxury.  Not cooking any more and going to the restaurant or purchasing pre made food is a luxury.  Not normal living.  I get that some people truly can not live even a decent life due to so many expenses.  But these are very few cases.  Most of them are just people who poorly manage their finances.

-
Regards,
PrivacyG

[1715260632]

1715260632

[1715260632]

1715260632

[1715260632]

1715260632

[Captain Corporate]

This is how I lived most of my life so far and gave up about 5 years ago or so. It has been quite terrible because at the end of the day I didn't know what I was doing and finance was not something I knew about, it was something quite terrible for me. Which is why I believe that we shouldn't be really buying liabilities or spending money on things that doesn't improve our quality of life. I am still doing it a bit and trying to fix it, and it doesn't work all the time. But even if you make it as little as possible, still doing just "a bit" is fine, that's fun of our life, but aside from that, spend as little as possible and use the savings to grow your income.

[fuer44]

they spend seven bucks on a cup of coffee almost every morning, throw a hundred dollars on some gym membership cards but never show up training, have dinner with some random girl in an expensive restaurant, buy drinks in bars and waste hundreds of dollars... The list goes on and on.

It is a lifestyle to fulfill personal pleasure, if previously spending hundreds of dollars on things like that, then when next month you get a salary increase to thousands of dollars it will still be the same. It's like a lifestyle when the first salary is $ 50, eat whatever food at the cheapest price. Raise wages to $250, purchased food increases to mid to high end prices. When the salary goes up again to $ 1000 more, then eating at home feels dissatisfied and ends up going to restaurants every day. If the problem is lifestyle, then no amount of salary will ever be enough and problems will definitely keep coming at the end of the month.

[lienfaye]

I guess most of us are doing fine now but financially we have to face one common problem: how to spend money.

It's not hard if you know how to manage your finances well. People who value their hard-earned money are aware of their priorities to avoid unnecessary spending.

If you live this kind of lifestyle and at the end of months, you are running out of money or can't pay the mortgages, whose fault is this ?

There's no one to blame but yourself. You're the one managing your money on where to spend it and what to prioritize. It's fine to do what can makes you happy because you deserve to reward yourself for being a hard worker. However there should be a limit and not come to a point that you're short to pay your monthly responsibilities just because you overspend.

[rat03gopoh]

As a long time licensed financial advisor I can attest that you are correct, people in that "middle" area do complain a lot about their finances and not having enough money for this or that but as you perfectly stated,

Or is the OP story identical to someone who is unable to control himself as if he has a luxurious life just to show it off on social media even though they're actually at an average economic level? If I'm not mistaken this is a new type of syndrome in the context of psychology, "flexing". In the end it will become a habit that is no longer measurable and only certain people, such as those closest to them, know the real situation that they're complaining about.

[Kakmakr]

OP, you are talking about the people in the middle income range and many of those people are living a "wannebe" lifestyle, where they stay in houses that are beyond their income and they are driving cars that are also above their living income.

Yes, it is the small jackals that are causing most of the trouble, but it is the big elephants like expensive cars and houses that are killing most of the people's budgets. (My advice : Stop competing with the Joneses and live according to your income) 

[Marcellin9]

Please don't mistake the people who are financially irresponsible with the "working poor" members of the working class. There's a definition of "working poor" in Wikipedia. You can check it out. There are people, who aren't making any irresponsible financial decisions(like buying expensive coffee, smoking, drinking alcohol, having gym memberships), but they still don't make enough money from their job to make ends meet. Who is to be blamed in that situation? The people, who are working in such low paying jobs(because they lack education and skills to get a better job) or the labor market/employers/the government? I think that everyone can be blamed for the harsh conditions of the "working poor". The workers have to educate themselves and develop better skills, the employers have to pay higher salaries and the government has to create a better environment for the businesses to grow and make more money.

Oh, I definitely did not make the mistake you were talking about. In my clarification, I already stated people with "savings and spare time" which distinguished my topic from the working poor you just mentioned. To be honest, it does not really matter how much you earn if you lack the ability to manage your finances. I thank you for bringing up this working poor topic but it has nothing to do with my thread here.

[justdimin]

If you live this kind of lifestyle and at the end of months, you are running out of money or can't pay the mortgages, whose fault is this ?

There's no one to blame but yourself. You're the one managing your money on where to spend it and what to prioritize. It's fine to do what can makes you happy because you deserve to reward yourself for being a hard worker. However there should be a limit and not come to a point that you're short to pay your monthly responsibilities just because you overspend.

That is basically the way generation Z sees it these days. They realized that they won't be able to get rich as much as their grandparents, and possibly not even as much as their parents, and they decided that it is better to just spend that money on what makes them happy, and not worry about the future and what it will happen if they face a trouble.

Because why spend 10 years being insanely unhappy by living a frugal life and save to get richer, when governments could ruin it in a single day? So it is better to have a better each day, and then let the problems handle itself when it happens, instead of being unhappy majority of their life.

[savetheFORUM]

Please let me clarify first: anyone who is extremely poor or wealthy is not included in this discussion. Only those who are employed with steady income, some savings and spare time will find this topic useful. I guess most of us are doing fine now but financially we have to face one common problem: how to spend money.  This issue leads to many consequences if not handled properly. Here I would not start any broad and subjective agruement. To deliver my message clearly, I am using some specific examples to elaborate.

Though financial mismanagement can lead to unnecessary problems, not everyone's problems are caused by the activities that you mentioned in your post. Not all of us pay hundreds of dollars for club or gym memberships, nor do we go on dates with random girls in costly restaurants. Some of us just don't earn enough to be able to manage everything that we need to within the budget we have every month, without the unnecessary stuff.

For these kinds of people, the only problem-solving solution can be either having multiple income streams or having pay rises to cover the expenses against the increasing inflation and economic crisis that we are facing.

[jossiel]

Please let me clarify first: anyone who is extremely poor or wealthy is not included in this discussion. Only those who are employed with steady income, some savings and spare time will find this topic useful. I guess most of us are doing fine now but financially we have to face one common problem: how to spend money.  This issue leads to many consequences if not handled properly. Here I would not start any broad and subjective agruement. To deliver my message clearly, I am using some specific examples to elaborate. For example, a lot of peole complain that their income is not enough to cover their daily expenses so they can't save much money while...they spend seven bucks on a cup of coffee almost every morning, throw a hundred dollars on some gym membership cards but never show up training, have dinner with some random girl in an expensive restaurant, buy drinks in bars and waste hundreds of dollars... The list goes on and on. If you live this kind of lifestyle and at the end of months, you are running out of money or can't pay the mortgages, whose fault is this ? I can not provide any statisitics but I am sure that many people have fallen in the trap and can not get out.  I hope you are not one of them.

The situation differs from each of us, there goes those type of people that have been living just the way you've defined. But, there are also people that have barely enough for living even how hard they try, thanks to inflation and unstable economy of the country where they're living.

Those that have been living that lavish lifestyle and yet they complain later on that they have got nothing enough, they should learn how to manage their budget and stop being spendthrift.

Anyway, either of the two situations, we really need to do something like adding another source of income.

[kryptqnick]

Thankfully, I don't find financial management difficult. I have been in financially unstable situations, but I tend to get out of them without trouble because I keep a rough track of earnings and spendings, ensuring that if the money is tight, I don't spend it on unnecessary things. I do agree with the op that some don't keep a good track of their money and may spend it on unnecessary things while later not having enough for essentials. I don't support a harsh approach of self-limitations because if you have extra money, you should spend it on what makes your life happier, even if it's the little things like buying a latte, a game or going out to eat at a nice place.

[Beparanf]

I spend my salary by buying first all my personal necessities such as groceries, personal care, monthly and house appliances(if ever I needed some replacement for my broken appliance). The remaining of my salary will go to my different savings such as life savings, personal savings(money that I save if I plan to purchase something) and insurance. I don’t spend unnecessary things that I just think outside my plan budget and I always plan so that I can allocate money when I’m buying things that is not on my list.

This is how I manage my monthly salary. The only thing I spend that is not planned is for food like when I crave for a specific food but I don’t count this as unnecessary expenses because food is my favorite part of my life.

[Coyster]

The thing is, it is practically impossible to spend money and have it back, once spent, it is gone, but now it all depends on what it was spent on, and what your source of income is, in order for it to be replenished. There are people that are quite wealthy, and even if they spend as much as they want everyday all through their life, without even working, they'd never run out of money, most of the individuals under this category were born into inherited wealth, these people may not have to worry about being frugal.

Having said that, if you have to work so hard to make ends meet, and you cannot afford some certain luxury, then there is no need to go for them, well it takes wisdom to handle finances pretty well. Frugality is very much essential, it is much better to spend far lower than what you are earning, but the moment you start spending far higher than your earnings, you're bound to run into financial problems sooner rather than later.

[lizarder]

The list goes on and on. If you live this kind of lifestyle and at the end of months, you are running out of money or can't pay the mortgages, whose fault is this ? I can not provide any statisitics but I am sure that many people have fallen in the trap and can not get out.  I hope you are not one of them.

Everyone has to organize his life properly because other people don't have the responsibility to do it. Likewise with financial planning that must be prepared carefully and correctly, so that financial problems do not put you in difficult conditions, spending money by buying expensive drinks and having dinner at restaurants will be a problem when income and expenses are not balanced.

Many people forget that life is not only for a few months and years, many things must be planned so that our financial capabilities will be better, but unfortunately people don't do things like this for their future. Every individual has responsibility for his finances and life, if he doesn't have a good concept of life then he has to blame himself.

[michellee]

I try to limit monthly spending by compiling a budget from my income. I feel bad about spending money if it's not for something I don't need because it means I'm using the money I previously allocated for savings. And fortunately, I don't have many installments that will reduce my income so I still have money for important purposes. I'm also not used to buying drinks in cafes or spending money just to buy trendy food because I'm not really interested in it all. Maybe I'm not one of those who follow the trend out there but that's an advantage for me because I can save more to prepare for my future and invest the money in bitcoin.

[doomloop]

This is how I lived most of my life so far and gave up about 5 years ago or so. It has been quite terrible because at the end of the day I didn't know what I was doing and finance was not something I knew about, it was something quite terrible for me. Which is why I believe that we shouldn't be really buying liabilities or spending money on things that doesn't improve our quality of life. I am still doing it a bit and trying to fix it, and it doesn't work all the time. But even if you make it as little as possible, still doing just "a bit" is fine, that's fun of our life, but aside from that, spend as little as possible and use the savings to grow your income.

I think we are going through that phase in our life where we are not responsible with finances and many other things that are important for life. When we enter practical life, where we get married and become the head of a family, that is when it hits our head that what we've been doing throughout our lives was not really the way, and now we have to manage our finances and everything.

Though it's a bit hard at the beginning, we get a hold of everything slowly as we move ahead. I've been through all of it, and I know it can be difficult but I've managed to get myself together and now I can say that I know how to manage my finances.

[DrBeer]

Please let me clarify first: anyone who is extremely poor or wealthy is not included in this discussion. Only those who are employed with steady income, some savings and spare time will find this topic useful. I guess most of us are doing fine now but financially we have to face one common problem: how to spend money.  This issue leads to many consequences if not handled properly. Here I would not start any broad and subjective agruement. To deliver my message clearly, I am using some specific examples to elaborate. For example, a lot of peole complain that their income is not enough to cover their daily expenses so they can't save much money while...they spend seven bucks on a cup of coffee almost every morning, throw a hundred dollars on some gym membership cards but never show up training, have dinner with some random girl in an expensive restaurant, buy drinks in bars and waste hundreds of dollars... The list goes on and on. If you live this kind of lifestyle and at the end of months, you are running out of money or can't pay the mortgages, whose fault is this ? I can not provide any statisitics but I am sure that many people have fallen in the trap and can not get out.  I hope you are not one of them.

One of the problems of our time is the reassessment of one's needs and "habits" that do not correspond to income. More precisely, an attempt to impersonate "more wealthy." I do not want to call myself very wealthy, but I consider myself "middle class". I have several apartments, a car, a land plot 20 km from the capital of the country where I live and other joys of life. It's not too much and not too little. But for example, I don't buy Brioni suits, I don't buy Porsche Panamera, and I don't buy Patek Philippe watches. Although I could buy it. No, I do not argue - these are quality things, but I think they do not suit me in terms of my needs, income, and the ability to maintain and pay for their possession.
Regarding coffee - a perfect example. I also love good coffee, my favorite variety is arabica irgachif, or sidamo. On the one hand, there are a lot of cafes where this type of coffee is prepared. On the other hand, I'm not ready to follow him anywhere, I want to wake up and drink a cup of aromatic coffee
No, of course, I go to the cafe - after all, this is my help to my neighbors, who made a wonderful cafe, invested their strength, money, soul, and I am pleased to support them. But I'm not ready to be the daily "slave of a cup of coffee." My coffee machine brews coffee just as well, and much cheaper
And so in everything - you can really reduce your daily, regular costs for unnecessary acquisitions. No, this does not mean that you have to drink the cheapest coffee, pouring boiling water over yesterday's brewed coffee today - this, of course, is also an extreme. But just like that, regularly paying 2-3-5 times more than you need, this is stupidity and not a reasonable attitude to your money

[South Park]

Please let me clarify first: anyone who is extremely poor or wealthy is not included in this discussion. Only those who are employed with steady income, some savings and spare time will find this topic useful. I guess most of us are doing fine now but financially we have to face one common problem: how to spend money.  This issue leads to many consequences if not handled properly. Here I would not start any broad and subjective agruement. To deliver my message clearly, I am using some specific examples to elaborate. For example, a lot of peole complain that their income is not enough to cover their daily expenses so they can't save much money while...they spend seven bucks on a cup of coffee almost every morning, throw a hundred dollars on some gym membership cards but never show up training, have dinner with some random girl in an expensive restaurant, buy drinks in bars and waste hundreds of dollars... The list goes on and on. If you live this kind of lifestyle and at the end of months, you are running out of money or can't pay the mortgages, whose fault is this ? I can not provide any statisitics but I am sure that many people have fallen in the trap and can not get out.  I hope you are not one of them.

And you are not wrong on your assessment, most people I know have fallen into this trap and waste their money in stuff they do not need.

An example of this is replacing your smartphone as soon as a new and improved version comes out, the difference between one phone and the other is not that great and yet you need to pay a premium to obtain the latest technology for no noticeable gain on performance.

Now there could be few people out there which may need a new feature for their business and which may be justified on making the change as soon as possible, but for the rest of the population the purchase of such items is based on their wants and not their needs, now if this was an isolated case I could let it go but when all their purchases follow the same pattern then you can tell those people will never achieve financial freedom.

[White pawn]

If you spend recklessly and need someone to hold your hands, You simply need to organize a scale of preference. That way, you could organize and prioritize them from the most important things you need to the least important.
Then, I also think that cause something works for a Mr A. That doesn’t mean it would also work for the next person. Although, it’s always nice to live within our means and avoid luxury goods if you can’t afford to maintain them.
I think it’s important to always be safe with the way we spend. The billions we’ve got today could fizzle out the next minute.

[Yatsan]

Problems simply arise because of your decisions especially in terms of one's financial status. If you are a minimum  wage earner and you are spending more than you can suffice, it won't be surprising to know that you would be in debt eventually. Orevention is indeed better than cure. If you would be prioritizing savings and investments at the early age, your sources of income would multiply which would help you to sustain your lifestyle and expenses, even unwanted situations. The root cause of evil is money; I disagree. But most of the problems revolve around monetary aspects. Think of the situation like a bucket of water and bottles as problem; if your bucket is full you can fill more bottles with it. The way you spend, earn, and utilize money would ofcourse reflect to the life you are currently living.