The more I hear people talk about money, the more I shake my head in amazement and wonder where they learned what they know about money. I do not mean to be sarcastic or derogatory, but many people are grossly ignorant on the subject matter of money, and it is evident in the kinds of financial decisions they make.
I have seen people spend money in ways that are baffling. Many people are impulse spenders, and it has been proven beyond any iota of doubt that it is not a healthy financial habit. I know people whose greatest undoing is seeing something pass them; they must buy it. They can never see an advert on a contact's status and move on to the next status. They must follow up in the person's DM (direct message) to ask the price, and most times, because of how they appear to be in desperate need of that item, the seller smells blood and, like a shark, rushes for the kill. Before you realize what is going on, they end up buying something they have no need for, just because they saw it on a status or on a friend, or even on an enemy.
I have seen people whose spending is competitive. They are always keeping up with the Joneses. Everything their neighbor buys becomes their immediate obsession, and every financial resource that comes their way is channeled towards getting the same thing, if not better. I have watched with shock and amazement how people go to great lengths to keep up; some even go as far as borrowing just so that they too can be counted amongst those that own the latest this and that.
Competitive spending is the number one killer of savings, because you are always in hot pursuit of someone else's standard of living, notwithstanding what it will cost you. And this is a very unhealthy financial habit.
Another wonder under the sun I have seen is people that spend on the go. I wonder if they have ever heard of the word "budget", if they know what it means, how it works, how to draw one up, how to implement one and so on and so forth. Many reckless spending can be largely traced to the absence of a budget or the abuse of it. It is one thing to draw a budget, it is another thing to judiciously stick to it and obey it to the latter.
Budget is not just a control measure that dictates to you how to spend your money, it helps you avoid facing the question "where did my money go". A budget for your finance is like a Google map to a driver in an unfamiliar terrain, as long as he sticks to the map, he is certain to arrive at his destination in record time.
"Where did my money go?" has become an unanswered question till forever for some people because they have refused to pay attention to basic financial fundamentals, and their neglect of budgeting has made them casualties of impulse buying and competitive spending. Getting the right knowledge about finances is not just a money saver, but a life saver as well.
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