Stop making excuses for wasting money

We all have very unique ways of justifying our expenditure. I recently heard a story about a lady who justified consistently buying very expensive underwear. Her reasoning was that she could be in an accident and did not want to turn up in hospital with bad looking underwear. I doubt that a doctor will be judging accident victims’ underwear, but there we are.

While this is an extreme example, there are some excuses that we have just accepted it as the norm. Here are some common ones that are getting people into a lot of problems.

This new phone is an investment.

 There’s nothing ‘investment’ about a phone. It is a device for communicating with people, full stop. A new phone might do something a bit faster but it won’t add that much value to the quality of our lives. Also, a phone depreciates in value very quickly.

I don’t carry lunch to work because I am single.

Being single is not an excuse not to carry lunch. That’s just being lazy and willing to give your money away to others. There are many single people who carry lunch and are able to use that money for something else. The amount you spend on lunch per year can get you a holiday, a plot of land, pay your debts, handle your emergencies, and so forth.

This car will change my life.

People who often upgrade their cars do not also upgrade their lives; they just drive back to the same problems they left when they went off to pick up their new car. Many times, what we believe will happen when the car comes doesn’t. Some people buy expensive cars so that they can make an impression at meetings; however the client rarely walks to the parking lot to see it. If you are dissatisfied or disgruntled with certain areas in your life, a car will not fix it. If you’ve gone into debt to buy this car, it might even make it worse.

It’s a collection.

Some people can afford to be collectors of art, watches, cars, jewelry, shoes, wine and so forth. But there are many people who have started becoming collectors without the financial ability to do so. You cannot collect watches while you default on school fees or rent. Be humble enough to know what you can and cannot afford to do right now. Also, collections are not investments, unless you definitely plan to sell your collection at some point.

This is the best school for my child.

There are too many people in financial distress because they are taking their child/children to schools they cannot afford. They do this to keep up with a certain image, and in the belief that it will give their child a distinct advantage. Well, the best school for your child is the one you can afford, especially when young. There’s no guarantee that because you struggled to take your child to a certain school, they will be president of the country in future. Also, prioritise higher studies and save up for university.

I have to network.

We are literally drinking ourselves into poverty because of this lie. Yes, there is a time and place to network but not when 30 per cent of your salary is going down your throat. Also, this networking does not need to happen from Wednesday to Saturday. Not only is there a financial cost today, there will be a very expensive health cost at this rate. Do watch your spending on entertainment.

It is not bad to spend money or have nice things but we must be very aware when that spending becomes a trap. When there is constantly an excuse, it has become a trap that we need to look out for.

Centonomy runs a personal finance programme. For details email Waceke on [email protected] | Facebook/WacekeNduati| Twitter@cekenduati

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