Spending Money You Don't Have

There’s a guy that always stops by my job, but I’ve never spoken to him until last week. One day I saw him and he looked a little down, so I asked him if he was alright. He proceeded to tell me that he was upset because he was on his way to court for missing child support payments.

Mind you, this guy is always decked out in jewelry and designer clothes and he drives a ’09 Mercedes Benz.  He’s only 21, he has a kid, he works at Starbucks and he doesn’t make illegal money on the side (so he says). Once he told me why he was upset, I looked at his clothes, his jewelry, his car and his new IPhone 5 in-hand and I just laughed. I literally could not stop my mouth from saying “Wow, you’re kinda dunce.” It was completely out of character for me to impulsively say that, so I made sure I apologized and explained myself… but I still meant it; he was stupid.

Don’t you think paying child support is a bit more important than buying an IPhone or Louis Vuitton sneakers? If this guy is a young parent and Starbucks is his only source of income, why on earth and how on earth did he have all of these expensive things? How does that add up?

Some people in our society would rather buy $300 shoes than groceries. I just don’t get it. It seems like tricking people into thinking you have money has always been the “it thing”, but why? Everyone, especially the youth should be careful with how they spend.

If you are a young parent, prioritize your spending! If you are a college student, prioritize your spending! If you don’t have money trees in your backyard, prioritize your spending! In America, folks tend to buy a bunch of things they don’t need or they buy things they do need, just the more expensive version of it. I’m not sure if it’s manipulation by the media or if it’s the need to impress people, but either way it doesn’t make any sense. Unnecessary spending always backfires on YOU so please people, just be smart.