12 Financial Sins
John Lim January 23, 2020
THE FINANCIAL markets are often quick to punish investment sins. By contrast, if we err with our borrowing, spending and other personal-finance issues, problems might not show up until years later—but the damage can be just as great. Here, to complement last week’s list of 12 deadly investment sins, are 12 deadly personal-finance sins:
1. Pride: Keeping up with the Jones by buying luxury cars and fancy clothes.
Antidote: Realize the folly of buying depreciating assets you don’t need, with money you don’t have, to impress people you don’t like.
2. Greed: Operating with a “never enough” money mentality. A reporter asked billionaire John D. Rockefeller, “How much money is enough?” His response: “Just a little bit more.”
Antidote: Generosity. Giving away money will loosen its emotional grip on you—and make you happier as well.
3. Lust: Getting divorced.
Antidote: Invest more time and energy in your marriage.
4. Envy: Comparing your financial state to that of others. Since there will always be someone with apparently greater wealth, such comparisons often lead to envy and discontent.
Antidote: Instead of comparing yourself to others, work to develop gratitude for what you have.
5. Gluttony: Falling into debt. If money saved is financial progress, money borrowed is often a step backward. As I’ve mentioned before, going into debt to pay for today’s consumption is the path to financial slavery.
Antidote: With the exception of taking out a mortgage or student loans, if you don’t have the cash to pay for something in full, save up until you do.
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