This article is a guest post from Andy at Penny Less Dad that describes the signs that you may be wasting your money (and life), and what to do to regain control. Enjoy!
Wasting money and life? You need to start all over again.
Very few people can actually observe and identify whether or not they are wasting money and life.
Wrong decisions, big lifestyle expenses, and misunderstood ethics keep us shrouded in total confusion throughout our time in this world.
Most of us leave this world without even knowing what purpose we hold as a human being, and without doing all the productive work we could have done in our lifetime.
It is really difficult to contemplate our capabilities, and utilize time to its fullest, and make proper use of the resources available to us, be it monetary or other materialistic objects!
Very few people, in reality, can do that, and the examples are Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs, Bob Dylan, Elon Musk, Jerry Garcia, and so on.
What makes these guys so special? Is it that they have superpowers? Are they extraterrestrial? Or is it that God bestowed all the blessings on them, and forgot about other human beings?
Successful people become successful on their own, by working hard and showing dedication toward what they love to do!
It’s not that they are special, it’s just that they spend a good number of their days wondering their purpose of existence, how time works and how to walk parallel with it.
If we can do the same, and figure out what we are meant to do, and what is it that we love to do, then nothing can stop us from being successful.
This post is dedicated to all those, who are wasting both money and life, without even being aware of the fact.
To ease out the difficulty in understanding whether or not you fall into the same category, it is important that you invest some time in this article.
It will help you to figure out your life, rectify the costly mistakes you might have done till date, and finally help you to start all over again from scratch.
6 Signs That You Are Wasting Both Your Money and Life
1. Your Lifestyle Costs Exceed Your Income
This is the first indication that you need to stop wasting your money.
If your lifestyle costs are incurring debts, and your monthly expenses are exceeding your income, then you will have to understand that you are clinging on to a lifestyle that you just can’t afford.
It is important that you learn to live within your limit.
If your monthly expenses eat up your whole income, and on top of that, you have to take help of credit cards to meet other expenses, then buddy you are flying pretty high, and you will fall down pretty hard!!
Some examples of costly lifestyle expenses include:
- Frequent pub and restaurant visits
- Barely cooking your own meal at home
- Wearing designer clothes on a significantly low income
- Never using public transport
- Using costly gadgets that you can do good without; and all!
2. You Believe in Speed Rather Than Taking Things Slow and Steady
If you believe in living fast, expect big returns in little time, want success in one day without investing in labor, time and hard work, then your life is quite wasted, as it seems.
Speed is good, no doubt about that, but this universe works in the principle of unison, harmonic motion, steadiness, consistency, and balance, where speed is very-very relative.
You need to have patience, and take things slowly as it comes.
You need to calm down, be focused on your goals, and make yourself understand that nothing comes fast and easy.
At least no good thing does.
Moreover, a speedy lifestyle also encourages impulsive spending habits. It’s like you can’t wait to buy anything. If you need something, you need it right about now! That’s real bad! This behavior will only take you toward a world full of debts.
If you can’t wait, then no good fruit awaits you, I tell you that.
3. You Are Above 25 and Have Not yet Figured out a Source of Income
Passing 25 years in this world is no joke. It means you've lived over a quarter of an average human’s life span.
By the age of 25, one must be focused on their life goals and must have taken serious steps to have a decent source of income to support their own life independently.
This point may not be applicable to everyone. But, if you are someone who has long past 25 years, still sitting idle with no work in hand, and only blinking while going through this post, then I tell you, it’s high time you get to work and earn your own bread and butter.
Remember, the more time passes by with you sitting jobless, the faster will you lose your enthusiasm to work and do something great!
4. You Are in Debt for a Long Time Now
Having small amounts of debt here and there is definitely no big deal! But having too much of old debts and that too of big fat amounts is a sure-fire indicator that you are wasting both your money and your life.
We all know that credit history plays an important role in determining a credit score and maintaining a good credit portfolio. But, in such a case, it means ‘on time’ paid off debt accounts, that were opened a long time ago.
It doesn’t mean that you've got to have a red alert credit card balance going unpaid for several years. What it means is how many old credit accounts are listed on your credit report with a good status rating.
Our concern is however not that.
What I am trying to say is, the longer you drag on a debt, the more you are paying on interests. Which means you are filling someone else’s pockets! And that’s absolutely wasting your hard earned cash.
5. You Are Inclined Toward Addiction and Poly-Substance Abuse
Many brilliant souls and minds have been lost in the puzzling world of substance abuse and booze. We all know that addictions are harmful, but if you look around you, you will see addicts are filling up the streets all over the world like an epidemic.
Youths are getting wasted, social tensions are increasing, sweet families are breaking up, and all these things are happening due to some mere chemical compounds!
If you are into some kind of addiction, be it even alcohol, then you need to pay attention and take proper care of yourself.
See man, needless to say, our human society lost humanity since the day apes became humans. I pretty much understand how our own friends and family members play politics with us and keep us isolated. But, that’s the reality mate!
If you want to see a better society, then you need to be financially independent. The moment you have money, you will see people have started to befriend and worship you.
But doing dopes, getting fixes, spending huge amounts on addictions, is not a solution to live a happy life. It just means you are becoming dependent on these substances more than ever. This can never be a sign of independence or freedom!
6. You Don’t Enjoy the Work You Do
Lastly, you are wasting your life away if you keep on dragging yourself to do something that you don’t like to do.
Peace and happiness should be the ultimate goal of your life. If your workplace, or the type of work you do, does very little to satisfy you, then you are probably in the wrong work-force.
You've got to make a change.
When you feel that you have become saturated, and see no growth both in terms of money and career, then you better switch to a different job that you might like to do!
So, those are the signs you need to look out for if you want to reflect back on your life, from time to time, to see whether or not you are on the right track.
But, that’s not all. If you have figured out that all these years you have been wasting both money and life, then you might need to start again from scratch.
3 Ways to Start Your Life All Over Again
1. Find a Job That Suits You
To lead the good life and not waste it, you will have to search for a job that you personally want to be a part of.
If your passion becomes your work, and you get paid for it, then no one can be happier than you.
Therefore, understand your capabilities, and figure out the stuff you are best at. It can be a hobby or something that you want to continue with as a profession.
If you do what you love to do, then the job won’t feel like forced work for you!
2. Make Savings and Investments Your Main Motto of Life
Once you get your preferred stream of income, you should be readily focused on building savings, increasing net worth, and making investments.
Savings is the only way out of the financial mess. The more you save, the more your net worth grows.
Be random while doing savings. Cut down on all unnecessary expenses, maintain a frugal life if your salary is low, and avoid impulsive spending.
Try to pin down every cent from your income to see where your money is going.
Keep track of your expenses, by listing them on a rough sheet (or using a personal finance app)!
If required, you can practice the Backward Budget, where you will keep aside your desired savings amount each month, and then whatever’s left, you use it for your monthly expenses.
Plus, the more you save, the more you can invest in prosperous investment vehicles.
3. Stay Away from Debts as Much as Possible
I need you to understand this part very carefully.
You should have no debts around you. Is that clear??
Debts are bad. It means you are enslaved to someone else, and you have to treat that ‘someone’ with respect, as if that person is your boss, till you have cleared the debt amounts.
Forget that words like credit and debt exist in this world. Your buying power is the amount of savings you have in your bank vault, and not how many credit cards you own.
However, if you are already in deep debt waters, then you need to search for the best options for becoming debt free.
You can try to settle your debts by talking to the creditors and working out a deal to pay only a lump sum for the initially owed amounts. Do whatever you can, but just get rid of your debts.
Debts are never your friend. You can be very much assured about that.
Conclusion
Believe you will now try to manage your life and finances better than before. And, don’t forget to comment down your views, or any extra queries you have.
Live a happy life mate. May all the luck be with you forever.
About the Author:
Andy Masaki is a blogger at Penny Less Dad and financial writer associated with the Oak View Law Group. He is a debt expert and a member of several online forums where he shares his advice as well as tips to lead a financially independent life.
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