single mother with two children on maternity leave. Net income of 10,800. Monthly expenses are substantial—rent, electricity, food, clothes, bus fare to school. Child support doesn’t help, because the father was a criminal, so the mother chose to cut off all contact with him and, consequently, any financial support—which wouldn’t have made much of a difference anyway. Despite all this, they manage to make ends meet every month; they aren’t going hungry, they’re even happy, and they still have 500 CZK left over for a rainy day.
So how is it possible that, on the other hand, a person who is single and earns around 30,000 a month can’t make ends meet at all, has nothing left to save, and still has to reach for a credit card at the end of the month? The answer is simple—because they have to have everything right away, and that’s solved with loans.
The Pursuit of “Happiness”
These days, it’s trendy to keep up with the times and, above all, to always have at least what others have—if not more. In this age of technology, where people are willing to spend over 25,000 crowns on a new phone, tens of thousands on clothes, hundreds of thousands on a car, and millions on housing, high incomes are a must. People then seek happiness precisely in that materialism, but why is the mother with two children and a meager income happier? Because she understands what has the greatest value in life. It’s not money, but family and life.
A person who earns a higher monthly income is unable to save anything. Why? Because before they could save up for anything, their neighbor would get ahead of them again, buying a better car, maybe a pool. That’s why they want things right away. And so they take out loans. So what if, for the money they overpay in interest, they could often afford two cars? They earn enough money to pay off the loans, so why not go to the bank and beg for a “happier life”? Over time, however, it starts to catch up with them; they borrowed once, they’ll borrow again—it’s a merry-go-round and a vicious cycle. Expenses soon exceed income, and so many people—mostly young—end up bankrupt. And it doesn’t have to be a business bankruptcy—in today’s debt-ridden times, insolvency is common even among ordinary, employed people who simply couldn’t manage their debts.
Having Everything vs. Having a Life
It’s really nice to have everything we’ve ever wanted, but what’s most important is that we can enjoy it with a clear conscience. Enjoy life. So before you decide to go to the bank, think about whether those dream items can wait a few years. There are countless products on the market that can help us grow our money in a simple way, instead of us paying interest to the banks. Try to live more modestly, and put the money you save each month into savings accounts or invest it somewhere. In a few years, you’ll be able to afford what you’ve longed for so much, without being up to your neck in debt. And who knows, maybe during that time you’ll realize that you don’t actually need those things that much, that you’re happier without them, because the fewer things you have, the fewer worries you have.