Meet The 10 Thieves Of Your Finances

Money is never enough, I am sure that is no news to you. Even if your monthly income tripled, I can assure you that you will still have more needs and wants than your money can afford. It is more money, more problems. And so it is difficult to ever make enough money be able to satisfy all the wants you have.
 
But you don’t have to make enough money to satisfy all your wants. Don’t struggle to get more streams of income and make more money. Rather have an objective evaluation of your lifestyle and spending habits and you will see the holes through which your money has been going out. I have taken time in this post to expose to you the 10 thieves that take out your income unnoticeably, and keep you broke always. They are:
 

1.    Entertainment

Today’s world is so loaded with much entertainment and most people are lost in it. Entertainment constitutes the things you go for, that keep you happy. People all over the world are willing to travel far and wide to spend all they earn, on entertainment, and this is because they have not found natural ways of staying happy and entertaining themselves. Unfortunately it is average earners who are caught the most in the traps of spending much on entertainment, since they are not often very busy people.
 
Entertainment does not only cause you to spend money, but it rubs you of earning more money because it takes away the valuable time you could invest in something that will eventually bring in more income. Check out and cut down on the amount of time and money you spend on the internet, cinemas, movies, games, clubs, etc. and increase the amount of time you spend developing yourself. Look for more costless ways of keeping yourself entertained with the things and people around you. Enjoy your person.
 

2.    Socialization

I have found out that about 70% of people’s actions are geared towards meeting up with a particular social class/status they want to be identified with. And the fun is, no one gets satisfied in a particular class. We all keep striving for a higher class. The reason is that we want to satisfy the need for belonging as explained by Abraham Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’.
 
Our need to feel belonging and accepted makes us do many things we wouldn’t do if we felt good about ourselves. We get luxuries, attend parties, relate with high spenders, live in expensive neighborhoods, send our kids to very expensive schools, get into relationships and so on. But these are not always necessary as we soon discover that these things don’t make us any better persons than we really are, neither do they increase our chances of earning more.
 
Socialize wisely. Cut your cloth according to your size. Build self-esteem in yourself and keep away from lousy spenders. Don’t compare and always be true to yourself.
 

3.    Utilities

Another thieve of your money is utilities. While utilities like light, water, cable, gas, etc. are necessary; their usage could often be abused without noticing. Most of our spending on these could seriously be reduced by just being more conscious about how much we spend for each and how wasteful we are, often, in using them.
 
There is no point paying for cable when you hardly have the time to watch it. Many of us do that. We also keep our electrical appliances plugged and running even when we are not using them. How about driving our car when it is not really necessary to do so? Sometimes, public transport means could be far more advantageous than using your car.
 
Most people spend a lot on gas, car maintenance and insurance when they could really live well and meet up with their appointments without owning a car. Worst off are those who go for 2-3 cars. Before you get another car, be sure you really need it.
 

4.    Phone Calls

I should be classifying this under utilities but I decided to treat it separately for the amount of influence it has on most people’s finances. Personally, this is the biggest hole in my money bag, which I have had to deal with. If you are the kind of person who wants to keep up always, with the people in your life, you will surely have this to deal with.
 
Making phone calls is not supposed to be a hobby but a necessity. But how do you ensure this, when owning a phone itself for you, is a luxury? Are you surprised? I know many people who own cell phones for luxury and some go ahead to own 2-3 cell phones. When you begin by making sure that the cell phone you own is a necessity and then watch out on all unnecessary phone calls, you will save far more out of your spending on calls.
 
Begin by keeping a record on all you spend on calls, the people you call and the reason for the calls. At the end of the first month, analyze it and see those that were not necessary. Work from there.
 

5.    Dates/Outings

This should be coming under socialization but it may not always be the case. In 2013 you sure went out on a few dates with some loved ones. Can you still remember how much you spent? Between the pop-corn, ice-cream, plates of food, fruits, snacks, some salad and the movie are hidden costs that when put together, turns out to be a huge avoidable expenditure.
 
I tell you that if you are so into eating out of home and going out on dates with loved ones, you will be spending so much on this. Worst off, if you have a family you always have to take out. But dates may be important from time to time. So how possible is it to still have them but spend less?
 
Create other forms of having fun with your loved ones that may not have anything to do with spending. If you must spend, let it not be often. Realize that it is not the spending that builds relationship but the harmony and love that is felt by every person involved. It is also possible to create the ‘date’ scenario at home or at a friend’s place and still make it that romantic without spending as much.
 

6.    Shopping

People love shopping. What they don’t love is the fact that they never have enough to get all they desire to get. This feeling is even more felt when we go shopping and have to come across all the wonderful things life can offer. Only few people can resist buying lots of things they don’t really need, when they go shopping and have enough to spend.
 
Don’t let shopping be a hobby. Shop when there is a need at hand and money that was budgeted to meet that need. When you have to go shopping, carry just a little more money than you need and don’t go about feeding your eyes unnecessarily. Also, if possible, buy the things you need in bulk. When you buy in bits, you end up spending far more at the end of the day. 
 

7.    Beauty

I use to say that if I must start one business, it will certainly have to do with people’s looks, especially ladies. I don’t know many ladies who spend less than 50% of their earnings, on their looks. It seems, all they make is supposed to be used to make them. But the ignorance behind spending so much on beauty is that beauty starts from you and not from outside.
 
When you are able to build a great personality, self-worth and esteem, you realize that you don’t spend so much trying to look good but you feel good about yourself and sooner than later, people feel same about you. You could save a lot of money which goes into your looks, if you can just work on your personality and feeling about yourself.
 

8.    Health Problems

I know people who spend all they earn, taking care of health problems. Some even have to sell some of their properties just to handle their health problems.
 
While money spent on health could be seen as money spent wisely, I dare to say that it is not. The reason is that most of the health problems we suffer from are preventable if we could just learn to live healthily. Our eating habits, lifestyles, work conditions, etc. all form the health we have. In 2014, you could spend little to eat healthy foods, spend nothing to get more exercise daily, and spend nothing to live decently, and at the end of the day, spend nothing to be healthy.

9.    Love Relationships

If you agree with this, you are most likely a guy. But I know ladies too, who will not differ with me on this. Love relationship, for those who have ever been in one, is a big thief of finances. Try to think about how much you spent in the last relationship that ended up a failure. You must have spent so much just to keep the relationship moving.

Very often I read and hear of cases of people committing murder and suicide because they have been disappointed by someone they spent so much money on. This happened in my city this January 2014. Worst off are the cases where people invest so much to build a relationship they don’t even plan to keep. Know that you will need that money to build a family when you eventually decide to have one. Spend wisely. Relationships are not built by money.

10.    Addictive Consumables

Addictive habits such as smoking, drinking, drugging and sex, all have a very big effect on our finances. One thing that makes their effect really great is the fact that they are addictive and so could be practiced daily. 

I know smokers who cannot go for a day without consuming a pack of cigarettes. How much is that in your currency? Find out the multiplying effect over a period of one say 1 year. I also know people who drink as many as 7 bottles to 1 crate of beer weekly. Most of them don’t go to drink alone. They have drink partners who they buy beer for. 

If these things paint the life you live, you are really being robbed of your finances. You will be far richer, if you cut down on your addictive consumables today. Spend more time with friends who don’t share that habit, and keep busy building on your future.  A word to a wise is sufficient.