John Doe Money Problems

John Doe finds himself with more month than money. He is infinitely hemorrhaging cash. He lives in the fast lane.

His attempts to stem the flow have yielded dismal results. His state of affairs is coming to a head. Pensively, he cups his chin in one hand, elbow perched on his knee and mulls over his predicament.

At face value, no one can smell a whiff of his pickle. He labours hard to keep up appearances but keeping up appearances costs money, money he doesn’t have. Deep down, he knows he needs to take action at present. But pride has infested him to the core, even infiltrating his rationale.

He kicks the can down the road. Save decision making for another day. Today, he lives a little. He is perfecting procrastination. He knows very well this is not fate.

It is a situation of his own making. Yet he lets it keep unwinding like a ball of string. He has a date with doom. He can smell it, but can’t snuff it out. Doom he can rein in. But he lets it simmer. In a rare moment of clarity, he realizes he is at a crossroads in life.

He knows that if he stays on this path, he’ll plummet into an abyss of no return. His will, is weak. He is loosing this battle. He reckons he needs someone. He needs help. A shrink, a pastor, a soothsayer ....anybody.

Recently, I attended a financial literacy seminar. One of those shindigs where you turn up raring to soak up transformative wisdom. Some 30-odd attendees were milling about the room exchanging small talk when I arrived. A well patronized event. I sat at the back of the room pen and pad in hand, drenched in expectation.

The presenters never really told us anything we haven't heard before. They were preaching to the choir. Unfortunately, we are too set in our ways. As soon as the din from all the advise dies, we slide back to our routines. Surrender to our urge to splurge. Pursue immediate gratification at the expense of tomorrow.

To navigate yourself to wealth takes more than words. You. Need. To. Act. You have to do it for self. Put in that work. Make sacrifices. There is no short cut. No magic bullet. You save up. Invest wisely. Have a budget. Stay disciplined. All the boring stuff we all know, yet shun with reckless abandon