Topic: You don't earn money only from others, but also when you avoid spending your own - page 7. (Read 1287 times)

We live in consumerism era,we like to consume a lot.At work people look at me that I order food from outside the company refectory and they told to me joking,you seem to have a lot of extra money by ordering food from the outside while in fact I don't like the food provided from the company.The same can be said for all people and their spending,they like to dress well and get that expensive perfume that when they walk past,they live a sense to other people,some other people which I am part of them I like to have really expensive powerful computer/s at my home and beautiful latest smart TV-s and smart gadgets.Today society is telling more and more to consume to us,this though makes our credit card to go up and we pay the minimum of 18% interest rates which in the end it translates in less or not at all money saved.

This depends on the point of view of each other,I am reading a lot of books on personal finance but they all point to one thing,just invest or save and then invest,for me investing is as risky as gambling so I refrain from it.

Success in life would be entirely be depending on how someone would really be handling out their finances well and if you are someone who are really that had mad spending behavior then you would really be on disadvantage compared to those who are really that keen on spending and minding much about investment and other things in related with other source of income instead. If you are really that
been mindful on how to have a successful life then it would really be just sensible that you would really take priorities on things which could really make you sustain even though you arent making
yourself directly to have a extravagant kind of living but at least you do know that you could able to make it possible in the future if things turns out to be well.

There's really nothing wrong on buying things that will make you happy such as long as you managed it. Saving isn't only the option to be able to get rich but rather having a support that you can rely to buy the things that you wants such as extra income. Also, isn't the reason why we work and earn money, to buy the things that we want.

Saving money and having more and more income flow to accumulate wealth would be great however it's not wrong to treat yourself ones in a while. However, if you have spending more than what you earn, it might be a problem and you must evaluate your decisions as this might lead you nowhere.

People nowadays lack self-control and self-discipline when it comes to spending simply because they follow what's on trend. This kind of lifestyle isn't healthy because we will not be able to save wisely or even have enough allocation for investing. Meaning, that we will not have enough preparation in the future. We're in the inflation crisis and too much spending would make us suffer when the crisis gets worse. Yes, it's fine to treat ourselves sometimes because we also deserve to enjoy the fruits or our hardwork but we should still know our limits. It should always be our needs first before our wants.

Lotta folk's are still leaving by the old rule's "Go to school, Go get good grades, and Get a good job"  These rules sucks for crying out loud, a whole lot are still not financially educated how do you expect them to be conscious how do you expect them to b self aware of them financial spendings ? My take on this is not about getting more money/ income ( Yes it's good )

 But how do you get more income and money ? You have to look out for your surroundings and solve a problem make money work for you. You shouldn't work all your life, you should bear it in mind that you'll get retired some years ahead, how do you now make more money and income when you have no strength to hustle ? Advice : Don't work all your life, Employ smart and intelligent people these are what the rich and billionaires do!

Like someone said above, life is too short, spend your energy and strength chasing goal while you have them, have fun travel around the world, see new cultures, eat new meal's.

My take about working for people will remain the same. Take your time to study accounting, law and investment proper guide for anyone looking for financial freedom. Liabilities don't give you assets. So, spend your money to get assets.

Really interested into Agriculture, as humans will continuously eat for the next ten years ( Forever ). Currently growing Plantain, Banana, Maize, Melon, Yam and Cassava. Really wish I can also grow Wheat and Cereals.

Yes, I think people indulge in wasteful and carefree spending, buying somewhat irrelevant things that end up being barely used. Not forgetting that they’re are some very low income earners that live hand to mouth and can’t afford to have anything saved.
It’s always wise to have a budget and to live within your means. Differentiate between your wants and your needs. You could also draw up a scale of preference and go about completing it from the most important. That way you would end up getting what’s most important first.
  Some people spend more than they earn and that alone drains you financially.

uneng's message is well understood and eliminating unnecessary unjustified expenses will benefit anyone. There are two very important skills required when dealing with money. This is the ability to earn and the ability to manage / save earned money. OP emphasizes and focuses on the second part of this simple "formula", but it seems to me that the first point cannot be excluded either. It is important to be able to balance between making money and prudent spending it.

Do not forget the waste of good money on "bad" habits. I have friends that constantly moan and groan about financial problems, but most of them smoke 1 or 2 packets of cigarettes a day.... and on top of that, they consume a lot of alcohol on a daily basis.

Some of them have more than 3 big dogs and some other animals too, so they are spending loads of money on food for those pets. I love animals too, but I am satisfied with 1 dog and some fish in a small aquarium or even a few birds. 

This is a weird approach though. I mean if you keep on saving money and do not spend your own instead of finding more and more income, then you are going to lose your moneys value against inflation. This is why I think we should be focusing a bit more on the income side and that is why we should be making more and more money. I am not saying that is a bad idea but saving money would not help you with anything and it would just cause you to make a bit more situation where it would lose you "value" over long period of time. Hence, just ignore all of that and focus on making more income.

If everyone was a good accountant, then far more people in this world would live better - but the problem is that today's society has become an obsessive consumer and instead of spending more time with family or in nature, they go to huge shopping centers and spend hours walking around the shops. Everyone who does it knows that it is almost impossible to avoid buying things that we don't need at all, but desire is sometimes much stronger than common sense.

It's hard to change when you're constantly under the influence of advertisements, whether it's on TV, the Internet, or the radio, to buy this or that. So watch less commercials and think more for yourself, and you will certainly save money. I can only say that I saved a considerable amount of money when I got rid of harmful habits like cigarettes or junk food, and that is something that anyone can do - better health and more money, two birds with one stone

You do only earn from others, unless you are self employed which still relies on providing goods or services to others. You can increase your wealth more efficiently by not frittering away those earnings on frivolous or unnecessary things, this becomes part of good financial management. I'll definitely agree that large parts of society are caught up in the must-have-now and throwaway consumerist culture, which we may all have been guilty of at some time in life. There is a lot of unnecessary junk out there for sale, which in some cases are only used a few times before being discarded and was not worth the initial investment - impulse type purchases. It's a good idea to really think about every purchase, even down to cups of coffee - make it at home instead of spending 5 bucks at starbucks.

We are, for the most part, a consumer society and we are tought that by consuming (buying) unnecesary things we get validation for the work we put into (even tho we work less that people in the past). Also, the capitalist economic system requires us to spend more so it mantains it's grip.

Once you realize what you need to reduce on your list of expenses, you can start investing to see your money grow. But not many people can do this because some of them are more comfortable with all those unnecessary expenses so they can't start investing like other people.

If we look at other people's lifestyles, we will be able to take lessons because what we need and prioritize are basic materials to survive while other goods only support the basic needs that we must have. If there are no supporting items, we will also be okay and still be able to survive. And it would be better if we use the money for other things that can help us to have investments that can be useful in the future.

Funny enough, it is common that when a man tends to earn more, so will his craving desire for more expenses also increases. I totally agree with this very statement of yours, that wealth isn't created by having multiple streams of income, but it is by using those multiple streams of income to earn more money for you, while cutting edge from spending on things that doesn't really matters. Because this book titled "Rich Dad poor Dad" written by Robert Kiyosaki, is a book that will help you understand how to create wealth, how money works and financial education in general. So you can go get one for yourself to read

I love eating out too, and someday I would like to do this more often, but first I think I must try building up the finances, so futurely I won't have to worry if I'm spending too much on this.

However, as you said, life is short, so we must do the best as possible with the time that is given us.

Oh, talking about beers and drinks you reminded me another example: to drink at home vs. to drink at the pub. Some people go to the pub every night after the duty and pay much more for the same bottle of beer they could purchase at supermarket to drink at home. I see so many doing this where I live and then I have a clue of one of the reasons why they live in precarious conditions...

True, saving your money is one of the most important aspects of growing your wealth. If you spend your earnings on stupid stuff then you’ll make less savings and that would mean less investments. Less investments will slow down your wealth growth and that would make you stay poor a lot longer.

“A dollar is not spent is a dollar saved” -Benjamin Franklin

I am with mk4 on this.

In order to save, and invest, you need to spend less than you earn. You can do this by reducing your expenses or increasing your income. I prefer the latter, but you can also do a combination of both. On this point, I think the OP is right that we should try to avoid ant costs:


If you are barely making ends meet, the first thing to do is to review expenses and remove all such expenses, then try to increase income and try to find other sources of income.

Eating out and shopping for unnecessary things becomes normal when they get used to it. Its just like us drinking beers every night when we know already how it feels even during out teen days. Old habit die hard I guess.

Its why I like reading success stories of people in the worse situation in life but had stand the test of time with success. There are many of these poor men disliked by their in-laws because they were not rich at all but prove to be successful in saving and investing.

Are people really going to allocate that money for investment?
I think their management has more influence on the decision. Someone is used to that investment is important, they will avoid transactions with excessive fees. It is a form of indirect investment. Otherwise, those who are accustomed to their consumptive behavior will only use the remaining money for other unnecessary purchases.

Taking out unnecessary expenses is definitely good, but looking for additional income streams is definitely the way to go. Very early on I stopped eating out frequently because I couldn't afford it, but I love eating out so much that I forced myself to look for more income streams to be able to afford it. Life is short! Hustle hard to be able to afford the things you enjoy.