Have you been part of stealing from our future generations? Income(Y) minus Expenses (X) equals Your Future.
There are so many ways that recent generations have been engaged consciously or unconsciously in behaviours resulting in stealing from our children and future generations. Keep reading to find out how.
If you speak to older generations, now more likely 70 years old and over, life was very different. If you couldn’t afford something you couldn’t have it! Then maybe 30 – 40 years ago we had layby, where we saw something in certain stores, asked for it to be put aside and you paid it off weekly before you could collect it. Thankfully some stores still do this today. Then came credit! For youth who have never known life without credit cards, they seem to see this as free and easy money.
Did you know that if you put a lot of money on your credit card, without the ability to pay it off this pay period, or have a personal loan, that you are stealing from your future and more than likely from your children’s future? At the very least you have become a slave to money rather than having money as a tool to work for you. Buy what you want now, then logical consequence – someone else (eg the banks, the lender) will tell you what you can and cannot buy in the future.
Income(Y) minus expenses (X) equals your future.
Y – X = your future
Y – X = negative / loss / deficit
Y – X = break-even
Y – X = positive / profit / surplus
Over time….
Y – X = negative / loss leads to bankruptcy / heartache / humiliation / poverty –part of the problem
Y – X = 0 / break even leads to bankruptcy / heartache / humiliation / poverty – part of the problem
Not sure about that outcome regarding a break-even position. For those who have experience living week to week, it is a well-known fact that there are always things that crop up, eg your car gets a flat tyre, your tooth breaks, school has given you an invoice for your child’s camp, or you or your child get the flu and need medication.
Better to ….
Y – X = positive /profit / surplus = money to save, spend, give away – part of the SOLUTION
So many young couples, older singles, retirees are living beyond their means. I am definitely not saying to come into agreement with a spirit of poverty however if we need or want to spend more than we can choose to create additional income streams (this will be covered in a separate article).
Someone once said, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ and I know this to be true. Need draw dividers for your office, use boxes or items out of your kitchen drawers. 
When we don’t have money, we can become very creative. For example, buying second hand or searching out freebies at road side collections – picturing what these items would look like in your context.
When we keep bailing out people who spend more than they bring in, we are robbing them of the blessing of creativity. Not to mention enabling negative behaviours that lead to dire consequences such as bankruptcy and possibly homelessness. Alternatively, if friends or family keep rescuing, resentment builds up and can lead to serious breakdown of family or close friendships. Please note I am not talking about someone going through a rough spot but rather ongoing irresponsible choices that are impacting others. When we enable others, we become part of the problem. Tough love where the person being irresponsible is forced to take ownership of the problem may be the greatest blessing.
Let’s encourage our young adults (or older irresponsible ones) to pay their own bills and give them the opportunity to learn real life skills rather than setting them up for failure and poverty. Short term hardship may finally cause them to change their negative patterns.
For yourself, next time you are tempted to put something on credit when your credit card already has debts on it and you are not able to pay it off this pay period, choose to go without or find another way to pay for the item. Instead, pay off your credit card debt as soon as possible and start investing in your and your children’s futures.
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Article written by Founder and Chief Imagineer of Imagineering 2 a Better World, Catherine Elliss, who is also the author of Prosper as Your Soul Prospers: A Holistic Approach to Basic Money Management from a Soul & Spirit Perspective.
