DELAYED GRATITUDE..

Our world today is filled with materialistic attractions. People today live paycheck to paycheck to fulfill their lust for such materialistic demands. They are not needs. This is true because such materialistic distractions are outcome of capitalism. These things are advertised in such a way that they grab sudden attention. People are made to believe that they absolutely need it. Thus these luxuries become needs rather than being just demands.

There have been studies that prove keeping cash away every month can result in good wealth accumulation. While this is true but the sad reality is that people spend this money on such luxuries. This results into stagnation and they do not move up the financial ladder. People believe that they could have better lives if they would get a pay hike. But this does not solve the problem. Once this spending habit gets embedded in our life style, with a pay raise we just increase our spending, thus remaining financially stagnant as earlier. The money is just a tool. It becomes powerful only if we give it the power.

The method or may I call it the practise of delayed gratitude is a habit when incorporated can do wonders in our life. This in the most simple way means postponing the wants for a later period so that we can concentrate on securing the future first. It does not mean that we should give up our wants. This practise in turn tells us to have conscious purchases. To give our purchase some time so that we can categorise it properly as a need or a want.

The categorisation is crucial. When a thing is a need and we can afford it we should do it right away. But once the thing falls under the second category we should give it time. We should ask ourselves whether our lives would be better when we incorporate that thing? Whether we have any alternative for that thing which is cheaper but can do the task equally well? Such questions will give us time to think about our purchase decision. And as seen, most of the times people avoid buying that thing. Thus hard earned money or soul kept savings is saved.

Some individuals may argue that we have one life and we should live it to the fullest. YES, we should. But having material possessions does not always make one happy. Happiness is a choice and we should only allow those things into our lives which can compliment our joy of living. Being financially deprived leaches away happiness and no one wants that. That is the reason we see people working soo hard to secure a living. But then these people give away their hard earned money is search of happiness in material things. They come out depressed.

We should have a balance of everything. We should delay possessions but not happiness. In the race to obtain more materialistic things people forget to live and end up having a half life. A life of regret at the end is what they get. Thus practising delayed gratitude can do wonders. Incorporate it as a habit and see dramatic changes in your life and personal finances..

INDIAN EXTRAVAGANCE

Celebrations are an important part of life that makes life interesting. We Indians have unique festivals and unique ways of celebrating them as well. The festivals in India are times of extravagance with most people spending huge sum of money so that they are accepted in the society as a rule abiding citizen. The celebrations can be social phenomenon or family phenomenon. But in both the cases society plays the determining role. 

India is a large and diverse county. The festivals and celebrations are different all over India. The ways of celebrations are also different. The festivals of same religion also varies from region to region in the way it is celebrated. Thus it is clear that diversity is vast in this subcontinent. The social festivals include religious festivals or some kind of community celebration. Such festivities are celebrated together. If someone tries to avoid such festivals they are often branded as anti social and are discriminated in the society. Similarly there are several family celebrations like marriages, birthdays, annaprasan etc. This sect has a mix of traditional as well as festivals that have been burrowed from other cultures such as anniversaries, birthdays etc. Although they are family celebrations they are hyped and the whole society gets involved. This helps in creating bonds that are crucial for a social being like the humans. But this also creates competition that leads to more spending and extravagance. Such spending is just to get social recognition and respect. People show their money and resources at these functions. From decorations to guests invited, all are planned and carried out with precision. Such behaviour is acceptable when a person is well off but when people with limited resources are pushed to spend on such extravagance then the problem starts. 

Such stupid game of showing off has put many under financial stress. Some have gone into debt for lifetime due to such spending. And such things are not exclusive to some, it is spread far and wide among all the societies in this subcontinent. This thinking of competition drives a very healthy business in India. People who are involved in event management use this ideology to get their clients spend more on the events just to look cool in the so called judgemental Indian society. This ideology is like a virus which spreads and is not limited to the current generation. The coming generations learn as they see,thus expecting a change is foolish and radical change is even more so.This drives many homes but extinguishes the happiness in many others.

 Change to this has to be gradual. People should know what is important and what is not. The concept of judgemental competition should be eradicated. The rule that all should follow is that the primary goal of living happily is to be rich and fulfilled, not to look rich and fulfilled. Think over it and change the deep seated ideology that corrupts most minds here in this society..