Have you ever been quick to make assumptions about a person going through financial constraints? I know I certainly have either deliberately or sub-consciously. This is especially true if we had all been at a certain level, or faced the same level of challenges and achieved different results. We may think our success and their failure is based entirely on some set actions or principles that we abided by and they did not.
However, the more one struts through life, the more we realize that things are not always as they seem. The first realization I have come to is that no two problems facing individuals are exactly the same. They may appear so on the surface, but there may be so many differences at an in-depth level that can make a big difference in our reactions.
Saving is a big part of our culture and one of the tested, trusted means of escaping poverty. One cannot save themselves into wealth, but you can build the right capital base to invest from, or at least a decent cushion when sorting out the next move forward. It is very difficult to plan when there are tons of financial demands that border on survival.
Why You Need to Know This
I am not necessarily stating this for us to be more empathetic towards those going through financial difficulties they can't seem to get out of alone, rather I am stating it to throw more light on the importance of seizing every opportunity when the times are good or at the very least allow for something to be put aside.
Save, Not Squander
For those who have the opportunity to compound, save and accumulate, I believe we should be more aggressive in our approach, particularly for those who are uncomfortable with their financial situations. This is because you never know how things may turn around and it is probably a good idea to gather during the better days to fall back on something during the winters.
Saving aggressively does not imply being greedy. To put a case in point I can give the Hive example of posting multiple low quality articles every day and getting ridiculous rewards from them. It is rather a mindset and willingness thing over any other thing. If you really want to, you can save when there is no urgent or severe need for money.
Conclusion
The benefits of saving are becoming more pronounced since the introduction of crypto. These days we have much higher incentives to do so than was previously available with the traditional banking system. Saving has literally never been so profitable, and I believe we must do so with every given opportunity, knowing nothing is certain.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
I have a great saving story in this vein: when I worked at a hospital, I was saving to try and buy a car. Everyone told me I was so silly wanting to save so much before buying. I could just take a loan and make payments, after all. But I did not like that idea - if the payments took all my extra income, how would I pay for gas and insurance and repairs? If the car broke down, I would be stuck not being able to fix it. Plus you pay more with interest on a loan. I wanted to save enough to buy the car outright, and then what I had been putting into car savings could be the insurance/gas/parking money after.
Well, I ended up losing that job after a while and I lived off of that car savings for months. What would I have done if I was without work AND I had a car payment?? I probably would have had the car taken away for missed payments.
My friends who had thought I was silly all come from middle class backgrounds where money was never very dire for them; I come from poverty (first world poverty, anyway) so I have it in my head that shit happens, and you better be prepared.
I still don't own a car but at least I don't have that debt and cost now that I couldn't afford.
So many lessons to learn from your story other than the need for saving that I mentioned. I particularly like how you didn't feel the need to compete with your middle class friends and live above your means just to impress. Some people make that mistake, and end up with endless debts and regrets
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
This here speaks a lot of volumes and can be Seen here on hive. With how everyone approaches the. Despite it being one chain others come at it from an angle of quality and building the chain. While others want to earn a living as it presents a beacon of hope. No one answer Fits all. It's all unity in diversity
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
Nicely put
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
I agree very few people in the world have the option to save, even less know how to save properly if they do have disposable income left over and those that can are becoming fewer due to inflation. I count myself lucky despite all that's going on in my country
We're even luckier to have discovered a platform like Hive early that has really highlighted the importance of saving and delaying gratification+
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
On point
Same goes for taking profits during euphoria times in crypto.
Posted using LeoFinance Mobile