The Trouble on the Concept of Economy

This is what most of us often do.

We tend to be thrifty on items we deem necessary and can be thrifty on.

True, instead of constantly buying your meal from restaurants or fast foods, you can bring your own lunchbox. Instead of being at the mall every weekend to watch a movie, you could wait for the DVD version to come out and watch from the comforts of your home. That way, you will not be tempted to go elsewhere in the mall and possibly spend more than what you intended. Instead of buying sodas outside, you could settle for healthy H2O. Instead of buying that new game you’ve been wanting, try to search online for a torrent download. I know, the method is illegal but let’s face it, it happens.

Bottomline, there are ways to get what we need and want with the cheapest alternative we can find.

BUT.

With all the income saved from being thrifty, I bet that money goes somewhere else we could call “luxury”.

Remember the lunch and movie savings? I bet they go to fine dining experience every weekend. Or maybe, the money is spent on some new clothes and shoes. Or maybe, to some new gadget you’ve been eyeing upon but do not necessarily need.

Bottomline, the money saved goes elsewhere where it WILL NOT earn. This is saying goodbye to savings and investments.

True economy consists in making the income exceed the expenses.

If your clothes are in good condition, then you don’t need more to cramp your closet. You don’t need branded labels to cloth yourself. You will not die from eating plainer, if not healthier food. Mend old items if they could still be mended. Live simpler and save so that, in whatever circumstances, unless some accident happens (I hope not. Knocks on wood), there will be a margin in favor of the income. The money saved can be placed in some form of investment so it could go on accumulating, and in this way, a great turnabout can happen.

Such attitude will require training but once you get used to it there will be a great feeling of rational saving than in irrational spending.

There is a simple cure against extravagance and for mistaken economy.

1. Get a notebook. Create two columns. One notebook labeled “necessities” and the other “luxuries” or “Wants”.

2. Everyday, write down every expenditure you have.

By the end of the week (or even month, if you prefer to total everyhing at this timeframe), you WILL see that necessities take only a small portion of what most of us can earn.

According to a quote from a personality named Dr. Franklin,

“it is the eyes of others and not our own eyes which ruin us. If all the world were blind except myself I should not care for fine clothes or furniture.”

We are often driven by what society dictates is cool and necessary when in fact, we can live without the “hip” and the “new”. Trends are good but constantly following the trend can lead to an individual’s economic downfall.

Basically, each one of us have to concentrate on what is “necessary” for our existence. Being aware of this will help us achieve the concept of True Economy.

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True economy?

According to a plurk conversation I had with a friend, “We are mere vessels of what we earn”.

Ergo, no matter how much we earn, if we are to survive, the money will pass by our palms and we are left with mere quantities to satisfy our ‘wants’.

I say ‘wants’ because our needs will definitely take a priority. Utilities, mortages, bills, food, medicine, transportation to work, etc. We complain so much of the priorities for the mere reason we can’t get any of what we ‘want’.

Whoever said handling money is easy. It is EASY to earn it. Everyone can EARN it regardless of what background they have. There are many jobs to take but as human nature would dictate, we are picky on where we want to be. The more difficult thing of handling money is how to manage it according to what we need to survive. The road to wealth is easy. It is as plan as the road to the mill. In known theory, it consists of simply spending less than what we earn. But, with so many temptations around and the way media and society illustrates how a ‘cool’ or ‘affluent’ man should look like, retail takes a higher priority over savings.

I’m not dictating or preaching. I’m stating a fact based on reading, observations and personal experiences. True economy is often misunderstood. Often, the concept of saving is done in one direction and is squandered on others. Let’s place this on a simple example:

When you get your salary, you will automatically deduct a portion of it for your rent, utility bills, food, etc. Then you will set aside another portion to place it on your bank “savings” account. Then, you will take a big ‘chunk’ of your salary to get that new Ipod model when your previous one is still working fine. You are just wanting to get the new Ipod model because it looked cooler and you wanted bigger space for your files. And I for one, would only question the reason of the bigger hard disk when you won’t be able to fill all that space unless you are in the music industry and it is a neccessity to lug around thousands of mp3 for work.

I mean really.

Then you will get sick and you complain you don’t have enough money set aside for emergencies or meds. You have forgotten to pay for your insurance and your health card is nearing its renewal date.

So where are the priorities?

We know how to save on one side of the spectrum but we tend to forget the other neccesities.

To state another example, on our way home riding a taxi from my dad’s doctor for his check-up, I noticed the run-down wooden houses along this street. They were small, crowded, dilapitated looking-homes BUT, from the outside you can plainly see a 24 inch plasma TV. And I could see a kid on the doorstep looking sad and tired white eating some street-food. A kid that small should be inside the house and be taken care of than left near the street with drunk men loudly cheering from some rowdy story nearby. I bet the kid’s dad could be one of those noise drinkers.

So what then is true economy?

It is understanding what we have and we work hard to make it grow. It is understanding the sacrifices of some of our ‘wants’ to be prepared for emergencies in the future. It is able to balance our needs and wants to achieve a comfortable place to live.

In short, we need to discipline ourselves on what we ‘need’ and ‘want’ and work around what we have to achieve both sides.

In theory, easy. In real life, let’s WORK on it.

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The Pledge of Billionaires

It is absolute amazing when I read this article of Billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet wanting other billionaires to share half of their wealth to charity. It does not need to be done instantly and donations could be done at their time of death.

The friends and philanthropic colleagues are asking people to pledge to donate either during their lifetime or at the time of their death.

The concept of this billionaires sharing what they have, with the extent one happily agreeing to give away 99 percent of his wealth is astounding.

If we think about it, humans are innately greedy. Man will take what he can to feed the instinct of survival. He will think of himself, of his loved ones, of his own comfort before anyone else. Probably for this reason, billionaires are willing to give these amounts for the simple purpose they already have too much of the resources. But what is the real purpose of giving excess of what we have? Is it for fame, for sharing, for pride? We have to admit, sometimes the issue of giving could have a hidden agenda. I bet a lot of rich people, boys billionaire, women millionaire, CEO’s etc., are doing these things in exchange of something else. So to hear a story like this does solidify the true meaning of giving and solidarity with the less fortunate.

“The pledge is a moral commitment to give, not a legal contract. It does not involve pooling money or supporting a particular set of causes or organizations,” they explain in a written statement about the project.

We have to admit, regardless of whether this is a true act of giving or there is a hidden agenda, the staggering amounts of money, which could be pooled from this campaign will help many lives around the world. So kudos to the people who thought about this! It will create a strong impact to the world.

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Men and Women as EQUALS – a pre-Valentine reminder

It’s the 3rd day of the ‘Love’ Month and boy a lot of preparations are already happening everywhere. I’m seeing hearts, cupids, roses and ‘lover’ promos coming out here and there. But really, do we really have to wait for the 14th to celebrate Valentines? Wake up people, romance can be given every day so put some effort into it even if it is not February.

Being in my current relationship for more than two years has taught me a lot. I had my time being single for the longest time and now I am having a long-term boyfriend, life has been different indeed. I can say I have a clear comparison on how different the perspective is on the opposite sex being seeing and being part of a couple.

I’ve realized many things between males and females and to define how different the two sexualities are can help in strengthening a relationship. How so? By being knowledgeable of the fact that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus provides awareness of differences to communicate carefully arrive at a compromise that would benefit both parties. No, I refuse to believe sexuality is better than the other. The mere fact both are made to roam this God-given Earth has a purpose and that is to support each other to grow into better individuals and use all God’s resources for good.

In our society, we were educated that Men are supposed to do only manly things and the same thing goes for Female. Ergo, men is the provider, women the homemaker. Men work and brings home the bacon, women stays home and maintains the family. Men decide and become the patriarch, women supports and agrees on every decision.

Well people, those are bygone days.

Modern society imposes men and women are equals. Life is hard. In supporting a family, women now work to get enough income to support the family. Men and women have to go beyond what is expected to survive. Men must cook, clean, do the laundry if needed. Women need to learn change car tires, do some plumbing and even do some greasy work if requested. The border between men and women duties has disappeared for many years.

I hate it when men say women should be the ones to learn to cook, to clean, do the laundry, etc. just BECAUSE they are women. Why? Don’t men have two hands that could do the same thing? Are they that incompetent? No. I know that the answer is NO.

I hate it when women think that getting married is the only way to ensure a stable future. Grow up girls; this isn’t the era of daughters being auctioned off to eligible bachelors. We have our rights, our dignity and our knowledge to stand up on our own and be independent. We can make things happen for ourselves and THAT is the right thing to do. Sure, it is a romantic concept to be the damsel of distress but honestly, men WANTS independent women.

Yes, men likes to be pampered once in a while but they want a partner in life who can support them in times of need. They want a woman who can make decisions on her own. They want a woman who can be their equal… not a woman they have to babysit for the rest of their lives.
So what is my point on all of these?

If there one factor to remember to ensure a lasting relationship, it is to be respectful and to go beyond what is expected of our sexuality. Communication is a must especially when compromise is needed on decision making. We are all equals. Please do remember that.

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