Last Updated on June 26, 2017 by Marie Bautista
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| A clip from ANC On The Money. If you are not watching it yet, do it now! Invest in your Financial Literacy (and it is free, too) |
Are you YOUNG, FABULOUS, AND BROKE?
When I was younger, I loved watching prime time soap operas like Dynasty and Falcon Crest. (Quick! Guess my age!)
I was not even in my teens yet, but I was in awe of how beautiful, fabulous, and cunning (although the setting and not the story fascinated me. I mean, these series ran up for years! ) rich people are.
My mom used to drag me to Sharon and Gabby movies and in the movies, they were rich! They went to Brent School, had big houses with pools, end up with the person –equally rich, by the way – they love and live happily ever after, in their mansions, of course. I was soo inggit!
TODAY’S YOUTH SPLURGE ON THINGS THEY WANT, NOT NEED
Fast forward to the present decade and I am still in awe –with the Kardashians’ lifestyle, the girls of Upper East Side, heck, I am even in awe of Daniel Padilla having his own sports car at eighteen!
I see kids as young as eight having their very own iPads (latest versions), a toddler at age 3 with her own iPhone, and
young employees buying their own car and latest gadgets.
Which makes me wonder.
Are they better off than me?
Today’s youth may have the latest gadgets, garbed in the latest fashion, with pairs of UGG boots and designer bags dining in classy restaurants, bar-hopping every night and driving their own cars.
Fabulous living, di ba?
However, I bet many of them are knee-deep in credit card debt, with no savings.
A lot of them may be young and fabulous, but broke.
A GENERATION OF INSTANT GRATIFICATION
The youth of today has everything in a silver platter.
And they have an easier life compared to my generation.
They grew up with cell phones and can make noise using the social media.
(My teen asked me one time about that Dingdong Avanzado song “TatlongBeinte Singko” and she can’t imagine how life was in my youth when we can’t even text. I told her we pass notes in class!)
They can download from the internet and won’t need to go through heavy volumes of books which can only be accessed in the library for research.
Technology is at their fingertips and they are quite competent to work, be productive and make the Philippines a great nation.
I used to make this big mistake (I still do, actually, occasionally) that my newly-acquired stuff are my assets.
Today’s youth don’t know any better.
IS YOUR ASSET REALLY YOUR LIABILITY?
They rush to buy their so-called “assets” by maxing their credit card or using up all their savings to buy the latest iPad, iPhone, Galaxy Tab, and car.
Bakit naman hindi?
Buying these gadgets is a reward to their hard work and ooh, they are such eye-candy, di ba?
They are so “sikat” with these latest gadgets.
As an Accountant, I was sure these gadgets are assets.
However, after reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki, my mind-set on what assets are totally changed.
These gadgets, according to Robert Kiyosaki, are not assets.
Assets bring money into your pocket.
For example, if you bought a car on loan, this is not an asset, because you are not earning any money from
it. You are in fact shelling your money out to pay the mortgage.
it. You are in fact shelling your money out to pay the mortgage.
But if you use this car for your business, in effect, generating money from it big enough to pay the mortgage with a little extra, it is an asset.
These new gadgets , which I bet were charged to credit cards and connected to Telco plans with hefty subscription plans, are bringing money out of their pockets and therefore are liabilities.
MINDLESS SPENDING WILL MAKE YOU LOSE EVERYTHING
Are you truly rich if you have money to buy all these fabulous stuff like a condo, sports car and the latest, most expensive gadgets?
Maybe you are if you are positively sure that these “assets” will continue to bring money to your pockets.
(For example, you own a condo, but you rent it out. That is an asset because you will generate passive income from it).
But if you spend all your “sweldo” to buy these fabulous cars and gadgets, you are just simply young and fabulous.
If you are not yet broke, you soon will be.
Fabulous Wants Will Make You Broke
Running after your wants will make you broke in the end.
Sure, it is not that bad to want something.
A little greed, wanting a little more, makes people work harder and strive to become rich.
However, it is a different story when your wants are consuming you and you don’t even have the money to sustain those wants.
Suze Orman has always been saying to spend below our means, not within our means.
Maybe it is time we should listen to her.
(By the way, I am justifying my purchase of that new pair of shoes and beauty stuff from L’oreal and Joppa Minerals. They fulfill my dream to be a Diyosa, di ba? Therefore, and I conclude, those are definitely needs hehe)