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In the developed, modern and civilised world we live in, slavery has long been outlawed. Subjecting fellow human beings to a life of drudgery and generally miserable conditions is considered intolerable and abhorrent. However there are wide swathes of people in our society who, although free to act as they choose and protected by the welfare state to ensure a minimal standard (albeit bordering or below the poverty line) by which to live their lives. These are the people who have been lured by international, national, institutional and cultural slavers and find themselves working hard to keep themselves afloat financially. These people are the result of a positive outlook, blind hope and the desire to have or experience the nicer things in life. These are the people who become lost in the wilderness of debt because they have been seduced by the ‘modern’ way of living.
Following fashion, getting the latest electronic items or driving a ‘cool’ car is tempting, helps nourish the ego or feed the image conscious but if you don’t have the means to afford the real costs then you should employ greater self control. Easier said than done perhaps, but we all know it makes sense. In this modern age where a premium is paid for people with ideas, information and a greater control of their time, instant gratification feels almost like a right.
How many times have you heard of children and teenagers that are given the latest fashion item or game, then either don’t use it or wear it for long and then demand a newer one? Worse still, they may even trash or not care for the thing at all! That would be due to the fact they have been given something that they haven’t had to work for and don’t appreciate it’s value or sacrifices that the parent has made, or in many cases the original price plus all those monthly repayments they are still making.
The goal for everyone must surely be financial independence and that can only be achieved by a plan and conscious effort not to waste your money. So many people do not make the connection between the net amount they receive per hour, day, week of working and the cost of the things they want to buy. If you earn £5 per hour after tax, that caramel large latte is going to cost you over 1/2 an hour of labour. That packet of cigarettes is costing an hour of work. That taxi fare compared to the bus will cost more than an hour of work. Is it worth paying the price?
We always here the excuse we give ourselves that we will cut down or compromise on other areas to afford our indulgence but when push comes to shove how often do we stop ourselves? How many times do we think we will make do with cheaper goods to replace our normal week on week purchases and then find that we don’t.
We know that paying too much for anything is downright dumb but paying too little is also as stupid. If it is cheap, it is cheap and will last accordingly. If you pay a little more you will get better quality and it may well last a lot longer than the cheaper version for only a small premium on top of the lower price, thereby saving you money in the longer term. Giving you more money to save for your future.
When buying a car, what do we look for? Surely the outcome is a comfortable, safe and efficient way to get from A to B? So why do we long for a top of the range model or that German make that sounds like a girl’s name? Why not opt for the ford or those cheaper and reliable asian models? Simply prestige and massaging our ego. If you are trying to accumulate wealth for whatever goals you may have, does it make sense to load yourself down with finance at silly monthly payments on an asset that will lose money faster than water through a sieve? The Financial Services Authority, the UK regulator, has help pages where you can calculate your potential budget and consider what is affordable, as well as considering debt repayments.
With no money, you are the slave to the companies offering easy money. With money, you have a choice and the power to start that choice begins with saving your own money. Set goals and change your attitude, start a plan for your own financial independence and a secure future for yourself.
This advice may seem obvious and perhaps a little patronising but I hope you can feel the passion behind the words. I know how it feels to be refused credit or have increased rates applied because of a past problem. I had a business that failed and although I committed to repay all the bills, it took a while and all that time and for another few years I was made to feel dirty and unworthy. Now things are different and getting better all the time because I have a plan. I have goals and a plan to implement them. I urge you to do the same.
Good fortune can be yours, but you have to take responsibility for your own life. Commit to yourself to making your life a success. Nobody is going to do it for you!
So, we’re all slaves to the grind with ungrateful children and we are all incompetent with money as we splash out on materialistic items we dont need. Multi national money lenders lure those with no will power into a never ending cycle or debt?
Got a bit lost on paying a bit more for something which is higher quality to save money in the long run n then telling me to buy a Ford n not a german car (like a VW?)- not sure they are exactly compatible- I’d say buying a quality german car over a ford is a much better way of spending money?
Anyway, thanks for the lecture
:?
Not quite sure who appointed Slayer as everyone’s spokesman and judge on here, but it is always good to see people demonstrate their level of understanding and view.
Go Go Slayer! :D
No one appointed me to anything Zaxx- its jus my luck the missus is at work n the bairn is asleep, n I wanna listen to Eels on me PC whilst surfin’ so u got my answer soonest
Unless of course you are posting for the purposes of observation only and not to illicit a response…if so, I’ll go and annoy someone else
Well said Zaxx, I couldn’t have put it better myself.
The frightening thought is, if you take the human race as a whole, is that approx 90% of people on this planet of ours exist simply to make the other 10% extremely wealthy and powerful, and no other reason.
It sounds a bit sweeping but think about it: how do the rich keep on getting richer?
Because all the poor old Joe’s on this planet don’t have a clue on how to hang on to their money but are ready to give it away at the slightest excuse! Examples: paying £30-£50 a month to Sky tv just to watch a load of tosh. Well, if you’re a subscriber you ain’t getting richer but Murdoch is and so are the shareholders in his company. Are you happy to pay £50 to go and watch a top Premiership football match? Guess what it’s the players and everyone else involved in the business of football that are laughing all the way to the bank whilst probably taking the p*ss at all the mugs that buy tickets, and it’s football fans that are lighter in the pocket week in week out. Sad but true! If you’re after that new car just to keep up with the Joneses, remember, cars just eat money like there’s no tomorrow, but try telling that to ‘ordinary’ people. I could go on with the examples but I won’t, I think you get the picture.
Having said all that there are a few enlightened people around, who, whilst they might never achieve serious wealth or power, are not in that 90% group, they have their eyes open to what is happening around them, and are savvy enough to be quietly making money for themselves without making too many waves, and don’t get conned into a lifetime of debt or servitude.
Modern slavery. INDEED!!
@talon wrote:
Well said Zaxx, I couldn’t have put it better myself.
The frightening thought is, if you take the human race as a whole, is that approx 90% of people on this planet of ours exist simply to make the other 10% extremely wealthy and powerful, and no other reason.
It sounds a bit sweeping but think about it: how do the rich keep on getting richer?
Because all the poor old Joe’s on this planet don’t have a clue on how to hang on to their money but are ready to give it away at the slightest excuse! Examples: paying £30-£50 a month to Sky tv just to watch a load of tosh. Well, if you’re a subscriber you ain’t getting richer but Murdoch is and so are the shareholders in his company. Are you happy to pay £50 to go and watch a top Premiership football match? Guess what it’s the players and everyone else involved in the business of football that are laughing all the way to the bank whilst probably taking the p*ss at all the mugs that buy tickets, and it’s football fans that are lighter in the pocket week in week out. Sad but true! If you’re after that new car just to keep up with the Joneses, remember, cars just eat money like there’s no tomorrow, but try telling that to ‘ordinary’ people. I could go on with the examples but I won’t, I think you get the picture.
Having said all that there are a few enlightened people around, who, whilst they might never achieve serious wealth or power, are not in that 90% group, they have their eyes open to what is happening around them, and are savvy enough to be quietly making money for themselves without making too many waves, and don’t get conned into a lifetime of debt or servitude.
Modern slavery. INDEED!!
So, we are all forced, at pain of death and with no freewill, to subscribe to SkyTv and everyone has a legal obligation, with no exceptions to attend a premiership match.
The process you are describing is call market economics- its been around for the last 2,000 years- person A has a product, person B buys the product, person A makes enough money to carry on supplying person B with the product and have enough left over for his piggy bank. Bing Bang Bosh
FFS, talk about jealous anti capitalist.
Let me give you some advice
There are so many ways you can save money these days (no smoking or drinking pays for 2 of my holidays a year) by simply doing as little as possible socially or materially. BUT at some point you have to spend the money- you buy food, you are a “slave to the grind”, you buy petrol, you buy a newspaper, you buy house insurance, you buy swarfega for your rough hands- it doesnt matter, if you buy anything, someone, somewhere benefits- its jus you cant stand those that actually are successful at what they do
N it would be really really interesting to see any link, any link at all, which substantiates an outlandish claim of the 90/10 split
Granted, we all have money and at some point we have to spend it, after all there’s no point in being the richest person in the graveyard. We all have choices to make, but some choices are better than others!!
I wouldn’t mind a Sky subscription, but not at £30 to £50 a month. The rubbish they serve up just isn’t worth that money, but millions rush in like lemmings thinking that they’re getting a good value product. Likewise I wouldn’t be averse to attending a top Premiership game, but if Chelsea or Man Utd think they’re getting £50 of my cash for just 90 mins of supposed ‘entertainment’, well sorry, but they ain’t.
Because we have so many products available that are poor value for money, is it a wonder that debt levels rise when people have to keep on paying more and more when in fact they should be paying less and less. They estimate average debt levels of £27k per person in the UK; if you think that’s ok, then fine, but personally I find it all very sad, when it shouldn’t really be necessary.
If your personal debt level keeps on rising, then of course, you are going to remain a slave to the modern economic system, but if your debt levels go down whilst still remaining economically active, then you are going to empower yourself. But the real questions are, are most people aware that they’re slaves or not? Do they empower themselves, or somebody else? Are they aware and conscious of their day to day life, or do they just sleepwalk from one day to the next? Big philosophical questions indeed. I simply come to my conclusions using the evidence of my own eyes. Anyone else of course is free to come to their own conclusions.
Finally, this 90/10 split is just my humble guestimate. If you think this is outlandish, then feel free to make your own estimate. Any smart person can make a reasonable guess. But good and valid points have been raised by all.
Bunch of commie b*stards. “Oh, waah! Waah! Waah! The rich keep on getting richer. Boo! Hoo! Hoo! It’s sooo unfair, we’re slaves! Waaah! Waah!”
Grow up. It’s not rich people’s fault that you are lazy liberal hippies who can’t be ar*ed to work!
@talon wrote:
Granted, we all have money and at some point we have to spend it, after all there’s no point in being the richest person in the graveyard. We all have choices to make, but some choices are better than others!!
Of course they are, some earn more money than others-doesnt mean they deserve it, but thats life. If my household has a joint income of £80,000 per year, I am entitled to do as I wish with that money (providing its legal).
@talon wrote:
I wouldn’t mind a Sky subscription, but not at £30 to £50 a month. The rubbish they serve up just isn’t worth that money, but millions rush in like lemmings thinking that they’re getting a good value product. Likewise I wouldn’t be averse to attending a top Premiership game, but if Chelsea or Man Utd think they’re getting £50 of my cash for just 90 mins of supposed ‘entertainment’, well sorry, but they ain’t.
“you wouldnt mind a sky subscription” but “the rubbish they serve isnt worth the money”.? :? :? :?
Why want something that is rubbish (and without it, how do you know its rubbish?)- its simple, if you dont want to do something, dont do it. And let others waste the money they have, its a freewill choice to have sky, not at the point of a gun!
I couldnt agree more we live in a debt ridden, materialistic society but it is driven internally by the “demand”- the supply simply meets the demand. People have to start accepting responisibility for their actions- we live in the most selfish age when everything that goes wrong is always someone elses fault!
To stop the rot, you have to remove the demand. And that is a long, painful process involving several disincentives to borrowing and to bankruptcy. It would take 2 or 3 generations to return to a form of financial self control
Sky actually does have a couple of good channels and for that I’d be happy to pay £10 a month but they won’t do that for me. For the few good channels I have to accept another 200 or so of drivel, for which Sky would like to privelege of charging me another £30-£40 a month. So I’ve politely declined their kind offer.
But we’re kind of digressing here from the main theme of modern slavery. Having poor value for money products is probably just one contributory factor, but mainly people enslave themselves because they want, want, want!! They want instant gratification in everything, they want the latest gadgets and gizmos because it brings them instant gratification, they mostly can’t afford or don’t want to save for these gizmos, so they borrow, borrow, borrow, which inevitably leads to debt, debt, debt. And being up to your neck in debt is the modern equivalent of the old-fashioned ball and chain around your ankles. Not much difference between the two really, just a matter of perception.
Why people want to enslave themselves like this, who knows? I don’t see things changing much, however many generations pass.
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