I have a friend with a money problem. Well, actually, I have a lot of friends with so-called “Money Problems”; and as I speak to them and they tell me about their dire financial situations, I always come back with the same conclusion: Money is a problem depending on how well you manage it.
It seems very simple, although, well, it really isn’t. For a lot of people, making enough money is not the issue. Everybody, pretty much, can cope with the amount of income vis a vis their expenses, their household, life style and all in it, if they ever get the chance to spend some at all. But when you take a deep look, you’ll realize that there is a hidden enemy in our economies, and that enemy is always shaped in the form of unnecessary expenses.
My friend’s problem is that he always likes to spend money when he has money. But what makes it worse is that he doesn’t have a steady income, yet he tries to feed his will to carry on, by indulging in expenses that make him waste the very few money he has to save.
You see, a lot of people get very emotional when it comes to money and spending it. In the middle of any given crisis, you find yourself emotionally shocked, unstable, and most of all, afraid. You start nurturing feelings of collapse and hopelessness and before you know it, you are buying those shoes you saw earlier as you walked in the mall, and in the process, hurting your already hurt economy.
Because as in anything, saving is like being on a diet. It requires the same discipline to lose weight and to put money away on a bank account. It is that hard. Yet, when we focus on losing weight, we either succeed or we fail miserably, again, in the same way we fail to put 300 bucks on a bank account, or a life insurance policy.
But, we are also known for reaching peak moments in which we achieved that weight loss we wanted so badly. There was a time in which we were able to conquer a diet or a workout routine, and we were there to see the results. We loved ourselves (or the diet) when we tried on those almost forgotten jeans we had inside the closet, hanging and waiting for thinner days. We felt proud of ourselves.
The same thing happens when we save money. Every time we put money aside, we are putting weight off of our shoulders. We believe the promise that this sacrifice will pay off in the same way being on a diet should pay off in satisfaction, health or vanity. And also, by putting money aside each month, we can also start seeing results as quickly as a well observed diet.
But for some reason, we have trouble achieving either one of these goals, which are, by the same token, highly valued for us. The benefits of putting money away are indisputable, and these benefits can also be touched, felt, spent later. Because, as it is the case with diets, the results are there to be enjoyed, if only after a little time of enduring some small sacrifices.
Now, of course, some of you would argue that these claims are not entirely true, as there are cases in which there just isn’t enough money, and my reply to this is always the same: “Are you entirely sure?”
In most cases, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” retorted almost as if offended by the audacity of the question. Because most people are convinced they have all their expenses controlled to the smallest amount, it becomes harder to get to a level in which they become aware that not all their expenses are core and that some money can still be disposed of and put aside on some kind of savings scheme.
Now, how much makes a difference? Depending on how much weight you are willing to lose. Let’s say you are about to get married, and you want to fit into that tiny white wedding gown. But to get into it, you first need to get out of a lot of weight and for this you either work out or go on a diet, because you can’t starve your way to weight loss. Well, the same occurs with saving money: You need to get out of more expenses in order to get into it, “it” meaning, putting money aside each month.
This is where life insurance plans kick in so dearly, because they are one of the most useful tools to prevent you from spending that extra $300 a month. In these occasions, Insurance Policies and Pension Plans act as a “Money Police” that will monitor your savings and keep you from running to the Mall to buy stuff you only want, but really don’t need; and in the same way a diet or a workout are regimes, saving money also has to come with certain conditions needed in order for it to work.
Fortunately, most insurance clients today are aware of how many investment and saving products are out there in the market. This awakening in client’s own awareness has forced Insurance Companies to develop programs that are more tuned with our realities and limitations, creating a wider scope that can cover most everyone.
So, in the same a diet works for different purposes, there is an insurance policy fitted for your best saving capacities, and that will provide the best results available for your future.
Andreina Maneiro