You Can’t Find a Way Out of Your Spending Problem
You’re in trouble with spending, but you really don’t want to stop. Maybe if you just made a little more money, you could save money and that would solve your problem, right? Probably not.
As the personal finance site The Micawber Principle explains, hoping to find a way out of our spending problem is a common psychological trap that many of us fall into. This suggests that the problem is not really with the things you spend money on (and therefore the lifestyle you live), but with how much money you already make. He’s just not enough, damn it! However, if this were true, people with high incomes would have no problem with spending. Except that they often do:
Increasing your income is a worthy goal. For the poor, this is important and desirable for all of us. However, if you also leave out the expense side of the equation, increasing income won’t solve your financial problems. As Keynes discovered, lottery winners and professional athletes, you can’t find a way out of your spending problem.
Of course, as the site correctly states, there are definitely times when your income is really too low to be sustainable. It is equally true that you cannot simply be saved from poverty. To get out of this hole, it is very important to earn more. But even for those who are wealthy, making money will not fix bad spending habits. In fact, without some discipline, costs can get worse.
Can you find a way out of your spending problem? | Micawber’s Principle via Rockstar Finance