UNITED STATES—If spending money wasn’t so easy, I think so many Americans would save a ton of money. Why am I making that claim? It seems like we are in this world were plastic or digital is king? I rarely carry cash around anymore; I do like to keep at least $20 in my wallet at all times. You never know when an emergency might arise, and you have to be prepared.
We live in this world, where we just feel this need to buy and we really do not need to do that. I’ve noticed that as of late, where I have purchased things that are just collecting dust. It has forced me to reflect? What are you doing? Why are you spending to just spend? That is money just wastefully spent.
This digital world we live in is making things easy. We have plastic rather debit or credit card, that is not a good thing. Credit cards are really bad because they put us in this mindset that we have money that we do not. We have to pay that money back and that interest on the credit card can place you in debt that becomes difficult to climb out of. I’m starting to see a similar theory with debit.
While a debit card is money that we have, too many people don’t keep track of WHAT THEY HAVE IN THEIR BANK ACCOUNT! You should know what you have in your bank account, and there is a vast majority of Americans who do not know or aren’t privy to those details. Not to mention they have overdraft protection. That is the worst thing you can do because you’re paying that money back on top of a fee.
We get this high when we purchase things, but that high immediately goes within hours of that purchase. You have buyer’s remorse people, which makes it clear you have to really reflect: is this something that you want? Let’s be honest, most of the things we purchase we don’t need and we have to find a way to remind ourselves of that.
A want is something you desire, a need is something that is critical to survival. The latest style of a elite fashion house is not a need, that’s a want. An extravagant meal is a want, not a need and you have to ask your wallet if it’s something you can actually afford or is it just wasteful spending unfolding.
The more I save money, the more I realize how good it is for my financial health and overall stress levels. I like looking into my bank account and seeing zeros or enough funds where I can cover my expenses for several months if God forbid something unexpected unfolds that I didn’t expect.
News flash America, it will indeed happen. It happens to the best of us. If you start by preparing today, you will be ready for anything that comes your way. Life loves to deliver curveballs, money is perhaps the biggest of them all because we all want more of it, but at the same time, we are constantly spending it. The problem is that it tends to be on things that we don’t even need, let alone want to begin with.
Written By Jason Jones
