Posted: 19 Dec 2008 01:34 AM CST
Suicide is not something we think about on a normal day. It is not something people do as a matter of course. People kill themselves because they are forced into it by circumstances. Forced by relationship issues, forced by work issues, forced by money issues. If you’re feeling suicidal, please get help and call the Samaritans of Singapore.
Yet, some of us are unconsciously committing financial suicide slowly without knowing it!
Financially Suicidal Habits
If you want to avoid committing financial suicide, you may want to go through this list of financially suicidal behaviours that could kill your finances and your chances of financial freedom forever.
1. Spend Like There’s No Tomorrow
Living beyond your means by spending money on wants before needs is one of the fastest ways to commit financial suicide. Spend within your means. If you earn $3,000 a month, strive to spend below that and save 10% or more. Build up your emergency fund because no-one can predict what tomorrow brings and some spare cash of about three to six months of expenses would help you face it.
Spending and charging your expense to credit card and not paying it in full is very dangerous. It only takes a $10,000 debt for your creditor to file a bankruptcy petition against you if you do not pay up.
2. Cannot Distinguish Between Needs and Wants
You need a watch to tell time but you want a Rolex to show off. You need to eat economical rice to fill your stomach but you want to eat sharksfin to feel “shiok” (very happy in hokkien – chinese dialect). You need a handphone to communicate but you want a Nokia N96 to be trendy.
At various income levels, if you cannot tell the difference between what you NEED and what you WANT, then it’ll be difficult to live within your means because your spending will tend to be more than you income.
Learn to tell the difference and act on it most of the time and you can control your spending more effectively.
3. Only Spending Money Makes You Happy
The more grey hairs that appear on my head after the $7.90 haircut in those cheap barbers, the more I realise spending money doesn’t always make you happy. Even when it does, it lasts a short time only.
Being happy is your choice. If you have to spend money to be happy, you then choose to be happy only if money goes out your pocket through that new Nokia N96, nice Mphosis skirt or Charles & Keith shoes. You can be happy without spending money! Go to the public parks or park connectors to take an evening stroll. Visit a library and borrow computer games or even movies for $20+ a year premium membership. Watch a nice movie on Friday night or Sunday night at home on Channel 5.
You can have hobbies that make you happy for little money. Blogging is free other than internet access and a laptop or desktop computer which most already have. Watch free youtube videos or music videos from dailymotion.
Escape from Financial Suicide
The book, “Your Money or Your Life” by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin shows you how the quality of your life is affected by your relationship with money and spending. I read the book and realise how true it is each day I work towards financial freedom. Whenever I forget about getting value from spending my life energy (money), I will feel that instead of being happy, fulfilled and satisfied, I become worried, anxious and disatisfied.
If you do not have any of the above three habits, congratulations. At least you do not have the risk factors. However, it is a constant battle for us to be aware of the spending and saving question. Spend too little and you live such a thrifty life that you don’t enjoy anything. Spend too much and you live such a comfortable life now that you run out of retirement savings later.
Striking the balance is a challenge and you need to think about where do you want to draw the line. I play by my own guidelines of living within my monthly income and targeting to save 20% of my take-home each month. For bonuses and variable payments, I aim to save 90% and spend only 10%. This way, I can buy small luxuries for myself (now eyeing the Samsung Omnia to replace my 2+ year old Treo 650 with cracked LCD) without feeling guilty.
Do you know of people who are committing financial suicide right in front of your eyes?
Share your comment with Panzer. 
Be well and prosper.