Are You Guilty of This Financial (and Lifestyle) No-No?
Are You Guilty of This Financial (and Lifestyle) No-No?
By Alexa Mason
The other day, one of my good friends was telling me about his money situation. To put it simply, he was waiting on his next paycheck to be able to pay for his son’s baseball pictures. I felt kind of bad for him, and my initial reaction was to start dishing out financial advice. You know: Tell him how he can stop living paycheck to paycheck, and that kind of thing.
But I bit my tongue.
My friend wasn’t looking for my sympathy or my advice. In fact, he’s one of the most frugal people I know. He already knows what to do. What he needed was somebody who would just listen; listen without judging; listen without telling him how he should be living his life.
While driving home, I was extremely grateful I’d kept my mouth shut and been a good friend. I haven’t always done this, though, so I started to think about how often I dish out and receive unsolicited advice.
Are you guilty of the same thing?
When You Shouldn’t Offer Financial Advice
In the case of my friend, he works 40+ hours per week for $10/ hour and he is raising two kids. He’s also frugal beyond frugal. In the wintertime, he blocks off heat to all but a couple of rooms to save on electricity. And when his kids aren’t home, his house feels like a freezer. There may be some more places he can find some extra savings, but in his case, it’s mainly an income problem.
He knows he needs to earn more money, which is why he picks up overtime whenever possible. He is also actively looking for another job. But for a sizable chunk of the population, the pandemic hasn’t treated their job prospects very well. The economy is picking up and more companies will hopefully continue to keep hiring. The stimulus checks also helped a ton, but he has a long journey ahead of him and he knows it. He doesn’t need my advice at all. He needs my support, and I’m so glad I was able to recognize that.
To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
https://moneyning.com/better-yourself/are-you-guilty-of-this-financial-and-lifestyle-no-no/