Let’s discuss a major problem that is taking residence everywhere in the US. Over consuming in general is a problem for millions of people and these people actually think that no real issue exists with the behavor. When you take money, primarily income and you use all of it by spending it on consumables, you fail to use it towards imperative financial goals.Thus you might be headed down the wrong path because over consuming usually leads to Financial Failure.
The little squirrel in the picture is actually showing you an example of what happens in today’s modern day spendthrift society, we earn, we spend, and then we spend some more. If all your income is headed towards, living expenses, food, transportation, stuff, services, utilities, gifts, and more things something is fundamentally off. As you are a very astute person to see, that several important categories are missing to complete the big picture in a simple budget, and they are Saving, investing, and Donating. The trick is never ever remove saving or investing from an efficiently established personal finance budget.
Tweet ThisThe thing is nobody wants to be told that they are not living right with finances, and money topics are usually in the realm of too personal aka Taboo. People tend to get sensitive when the conversation arises around spending, over consuming, expenses, and living within means. The only way to overcome money issues is to either talk about it with others to change past actions or to learn on your own to change future behaviors. After all talking should help you overcome only saving 5% of income which is the current average savings rate in America.
Over Consuming Usually Leads to Financial Failure
The examples of people over consuming are so rampant that it can be witnessed by turning on social media. Do you have a friend that gets new cars every 3 years. Do you know people who vacation all the time visiting international destinations. I’m sure you know people who are constantly squatting at the Mall with no regard towards income. How about the family who constantly wants new technology, while maxing out credit cards. All of these consumer based behaviors can’t be good for anyone’s budget, if they even have one.
Personally I like to set records on how many days I can go without stepping foot in a mall. But I am not the normal over consuming person, I’m more like a frugal saving ninja.
What can you do to avoid over consuming? Think about first and foremost how to win with money. Pluck each dollar and direct them like Scorsese into appropriate financial goals. Go deep sea diving into your budget and track expenses for a specified time frame. Jump through a few hoops to read in order to find new data rich input into current personal finance topics. Think of investing as something immediately necessary to pay for like next months cell phone bill.
Let’s talk about how Over Consuming usually Leads to Financial Failure!!
Rich Uncle EL
Best way to avoid over consumption? Have a plan, set a goal. You can't lose weight by eating anything and everything you want, it works the same it your money. If you want success and to build wealth you need to be intentional with your money each and every day.
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Great tips Brian. It goes to show that if you really focus on being intentional with money, it will only lead to positive outcomes. Good luck.
Agreed. It all starts with having a well defined plan.
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Plans are the key to success, and without action a plan is nothing.
The craziest overconsumption that I see around where I live is the price of housing in Jersey City/Hoboken/NYC. The costs are astronomical and people scramble to pay them, even if choosing a cheaper alternative or finding a roommate could make all the difference in their budgets! Every day on the train I see adverts for 1800-2400 a month apartments and people who make around my salary regularly seem to be snatching them up. That means they can't save anything! It's madness.
Yes that is so true housing for us tristate people is a big expense. This is why many people still live at home with parents. Either we can grow income to sustain housing or w can find alternatives. Good luck Mel
You make a great point. One thing I've noticed that compounds the problem is the way credit card companies prey on young people. $10,000 line of credit? No problem! It can be really difficult to spend within your means when you get a dozen pre-approved credit offers in the mail each week.
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Yeah I can see young people getting over their heads with cc offers, but if you feel ok to spend 10k a year with barely no income then that is wrong. Some responsibility needs to be placed in young people’s hands for over spending every year. Thanks for the comment and we are hoping to educate anyone so that they can avoid those issues with money.
I try to avoid getting anywhere close to a mall, or any other retail outlet for that matter. There's a lot of smart people paying six figures to go to business school every year who learn how to manipulate people's emotions into buying something. But they can't get you if you're not in the store!
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It's weird I look at all the products out there and think "why would anyone buy that?!" Then I see that item at my grandma's house lol.
I'm single and I think about dating again but when I look I see a lot of people that have clearly given up on their health and a lot that travel EVERYWHERE, drive new cars and I just know they're penniless and in debt over-consumers. 90+% don't plan for the future at all. I don't need an uphill battle trying to teach someone to care about their health and finances. These blogs make me feel more normal lol, but I may be single for a long time.
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Agreed! Overconsumption leads to credit, and credit leads to financial failure.
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Yes stay away from credit or debt as much as possible.