UNITED STATES—Are you spender or are you a saver? That is a question so many Americans have to be tasked with time and time again. This is a question that is coming to the limelight as a direct result of so many people recently receiving their stimulus check and refunds from the IRS. There are a lot of Americans who have money that they previously did not have in the past.
As a result, they are spending quite a lot, and it is great for the economy that has tanked massively in the past year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Retailers need the revenue, businesses absolutely need it, and the many in the restaurant industry has been in turmoil since April 2020 could use every single penny possible. So the money being spent is good, but it raises three questions 1) Are you spending to get things you need? 2) Are you spending just to spend? 3) Are you considering saving?
I feel like right now there are a lot of people simply spending for the sake of spending. They have money so why not blow it. I’ll tell you why you should NOT just blow it, because if you witnessed 2020 anything can happen at any given time. COVID-19 is not over; it has not just disappeared into thin air people. Yes people are getting vaccinated, but people are still contracting the virus, people are dying from it, businesses are still closed as a result. Open your eyes and see what is transpiring and stop living in a bubble America. Think before you spend.
On the flip side, I don’t see anything wrong with taking some of that stimulus money if you were lucky enough to get it, to treat yourself to something that maybe you’ve been eyeing for quite some time, but due to budget constraints you were concerned about splurging and putting yourself in a potential bind. Better to be smarter than sorry America that is just my personal thinking people. Would I recommend taking every single penny I have and blowing it on an item or two? No. Live a little, but don’t live stupid America.
This brings me to my third and perhaps the most vital question: 3) Are you considering saving? It is a simple question, but a question that has to be proposed. We live in a country where so many Americans live from paycheck to paycheck, we do not have a rainy day fund and we do not have enough funds to cover our expenses for 1 month let alone 3 to 6 months if a serious emergency transpired that we did not expect.
I look at things this way if you have $500 extra that you did not expect; you could put half of that money away. When you save money it places you in a position that allows you to do more later down the line. We don’t like the notion of being forced to save because it means it limits are spending habits. If we have money we CANNOT touch that is money that we’re thinking could be used to do other things, but it’s not in our possession that will frustrate us massively.
However, what I’ve come to discover is that by saving it brings a great feeling of being able to go get money when I want to and I’m able to do it to get something I want or need. Rather you are a spender or saver or not, you have to have a balance of both. No one saves endlessly without treating themselves here and there, but at the same time if you’re constantly buying you cannot save, which means you have no money to play with for a rainy day if needed.
Written By Zoe Mitchell
