BE CONSCIOUS OF WHAT YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY ON: TIMES ARE HARD!

Bokang

Millennials are setting a global trend of moving back home.

According to The Guardian, a quarter of the young adults in the UK live with their parents. In the US, according to Pew Research Centre, more people are living with their parents than in 1940s.

This somewhat reminds us of a painful reality that we have buried in the depths of our collective memory: times are hard.

When rand started gaining, boosted by larger than expected trade surplus for June and weak US GDP data which pulled back the timing for Fed rate tightening, the poor didn’t experience any change. The prices of unleaded and leaded fell but they continued to feel the pinch. The poor then will only celebrate victory when the prices – food prices – have fallen.

But, when will that be?  The investigation by a special police unit into allegations that Gordhan oversaw the establishment of an illicit investigation during his tenure as head of national tax agency has changed, literally, everything: the rand was set for the largest weekly slump, last week, since December, when Nhlanhla Nene was fired and replaced with a little-known lawmaker, against the Dollar.

According to fin24, there is a 50% probability that should SA’s minister of finance be replaced, rand will decline by R3.00.

Rand will fall – so much fall as swoop like a kamikaze pilot out of the sun with screeching engines and a wail of air-raid sirens.

We are supposed to be cool but it helps to sometimes face reality, lose positive demeanor and say, “This is way too much. My days are nightmarish!”

Well, maybe just maybe these are challenges a youth of 1940 was faced with!

Still, I believe it’s unfair to compare the millennials with the 1940 youth: the cost of services has increased at a much higher rate than that of other commodities in recent years – no wonder you are feeling broke at your highest pay.

We are a generation of consumers and have pawned our future to the hilt in an effort to maintain our living standards.  Modern life is partly to blame!

The degree of stress young people put themselves under in the pursuit of affluence is frightening – millennials value external symbols of success more highly than internal wholeness. And this, without us knowing, messes our lives?

I quite often visit people with either a pool or a court, sometimes both. You would think that they spend hours using these wonderful amenities, but more often than not, nobody ever uses them.  The funny thing is, they are sinking in debt and cannot even insure their lives for the amount of the bond (the cost is low) to ensure that, should something happen to them prematurely, their family will be bond-free in the security of their own homes.

We are millenials and our world is obsessed with the exceptional. We admire prodigies and geniuses and multimillionaires, and we believe that some people are fundamentally capable of greatness while others are not; we want to be these people – the select few. The inordinate weight this puts on our fragile shoulders is incomprehensible.

Believe me: this is the pressure that makes our generation oblivious of the fact that a gentle frugality with our own and world’s resources seems a whole lot sexier than vulgar and conspicuous consumption – the subsequent results are inflation and high cost of borrowing.

I am perfectly imperfect and, human as I am, try to not fall a victim of the crazy expectations people have on me. Perfection is so overrated, that is why you will find me dancing all the time – not because I am perfect, just because I love dancing and know that too much sitting and not doing much encourages lymph nodes to accumulate waste, reducing immunity.

So, we need to learn not to spend our lives on autopilot, research has found out that a wandering mind makes people unhappy, and make better financial decisions – does retail therapy ring a bell?

I am a great fan of mindfulness. It is incredible to have space where you are allowed to just be, especially at a time in life when you’re feeling things very intensely. The more I slow down and listen to my breath, the less I have to worry about. I start to feel that I am coming home to myself.

And, believe me, I have started buying things I need; nothing more. My lipstick addiction is gone – frankly speaking, I do not know how many lipsticks I own. With time, I am starting to discover myself: I am simple, understated and value ‘me time’ more than anything.

I discovered my love for Scandinavian Style: understated hues, natural materials, and tactile textures.  And, luckily, mindfulness enables me to help you be financially savvy and you better use them – it seems like we are heading for tougher times. The tips are as follows:

Curb your eating out. Those lunch breaks add up, so consider making your own food. Keep your restaurant visits to a minimum.

Look for free activities. Go to the library for books or magazines. Spend time doing cheap outdoor activities like mountain climbing and jogging and ditch the gym.

Buying bulk with friends. If you are single, buying bulk (which is cheaper) just doesn’t make sense. Consider buying bulk with friends and splitting the goods.

Sell your old clutter. Most of it might look like junk, but, believe me, it will come handy to another person.

Save on food. Skip the name brand foods and get store brands. Remember to buy only what you need.