Be financially woke!

Ester KamatiI don’t know if it’s just me or if my entire generation is as bad at money management as I am. I used to be in denial and blame my reckless spending on ‘you only live once’ and ‘I deserve to treat myself’. I have, however, realised that this irresponsibility is ultimately associated with my character and quite frankly I am not that reckless.I mean, it’s okay to spend a few dollars to pamper yourself once in a while, but this is no longer pampering when it happens every day. If it is too frequent, it becomes a lifestyle - one you cannot even afford. Of course we tell ourselves that it is only a few dollars and won’t make a major difference, but those few dollars multiply by the number of times your pocket was left lighter because of a #Self-love hashtag on your Instagram story, and it becomes a big deal.I thought nothing of it at first but I have come to realise that the things we spend a lot of money on are things we can absolutely do without. When did I realise this? Let us go back to my first year at university when I swiped for a bill of N$800 at a pizzeria, which is named after a natural disaster, after a night out with the girls. Sure it was a good time, but that much money could have gone into something else. I do not at all regret the experience but this just goes to show that I have a rocky relationship with the Hendrick Witboois.Here is my point: We are sometimes too quick to rush to spend and mainly it is just to keep up appearances. Sure, we are humans and can sometimes be irrational, but we should learn to tame ourselves. Often a major reason we go beyond our means is because we are hanging out with the wrong crowd. To lessen your confusion, if you are always the one who takes care of the bill, you are with the wrong crowd. If you are always the one who expects others to take care of the bill, you are with the wrong crowd. And if you are always the one who offers to pay for somebody’s meal or add money so that they can get something they’ve always wanted, and they don’t do the same for you, you are with the wrong crowd.Secondly, we live to impress and that shouldn’t be the case. The only people you should impress are yourself, your mentor and sometimes your boss, because when those people are happy, there is a bonus to that happiness. We have no reason to want to impress our friends, because if the person you are does not impress them without you having to put in effort you can’t even expect back, then it is not worth it. It is a sad realisation that youth are not big on saving though they don’t have many expenses at this stage and still have guardians to bail them out when they are not financially sound. Reflecting back on the balance you had and watching run down to zero with no knowledge or evidence of where your money went to is a dreadful experience.So having shared my realisation, I wouldn’t be a responsible Namibian citizen if I didn’t share this advice with those who have not yet realised the importance of saving. There is no such thing as being too young to save. Trust me, your future self will thank you for not purchasing that Balenciaga in your current financial situation. Don’t get me wrong, you are allowed to spend a few dollars on yourself, and yes, I realise that the saving we do sometimes is for us to be able to afford something at the end of the saving period, and that is wonderful. Feeling that you deserve something and then getting it is way more rewarding than getting it just because you can.My second-year economics lecturer shared some really ground-breaking information in one of our classes. He highlighted that we fail at saving because when we don’t spend money for an intended purpose, and simply use it for something else instead of putting it away, and at the end of the day that makes no difference. The point of saving is that you don’t use the money, so that you will have it when you truly need it, and not simply spend it on something else.As students and young people in general, we need to realise the value of a dollar and put ourselves in a better financial standing. We need to be woke about social, political as well as financial issues, and overall practice what we know, and not just preach it. Now is a fairly good time to explore options such as savings and investment accounts, so that you don’t find yourselves in a hopeless situation ester@myzone.com

Be financially woke!

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-07

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Be financially woke!

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-07

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