The phrase “personal finances” can be very deceiving.
Many people take it literally and feel personally attacked when others give them money advice.
What you may not realize is, your financial choices, whether good or bad, affect more people than just you.
Even if you’re a young single person with no kids, your personal choices still have a ripple effect on the people you care about.
How it affects me
When my family asked what I wanted for my birthday, I said “I don’t want any gifts, let’s just spend a nice girls day out”.
And I truly meant it. This year I want to spend my money and time building memories and creating wonderful experiences with my friends and family.
I know everyone is on a budget these days, and money is tight. I feel it too, and I’m working fervently to become debt free this year.
So I understand birthdays, outings and gifts are not as feasible as they used to be. That’s why I wanted to take the pressure off and just spend the day out and about, with my sisters and a few girlfriends.
As it turns out, some of them won’t be able to make it, because they are so broke they can’t even afford to eat lunch with us at Subway for $5.
They have known about this birthday outing for weeks, and yet continued to make bad financial choices, that are now affecting my life.
How it affects your peers
My friends and sister’s mismanagement of money has cost me something I was really excited about.
While they can make it up to me later, it reminds me that no matter how disciplined I am with my finances, it doesn’t mean other people’s bad choices won’t boil over onto me.
If the recent economic situation has taught us anything, it’s that we are all interconnected with each other. Don’t fool yourself and think your mistakes only affect you.
If someone commits insurance fraud it makes everyone’s insurance premiums rise. If someone takes out a loan they can’t afford then defaults on it, it affects everyone.
How it affects your job
When you’re stressed out and making bad financial decisions, your job and coworkers will suffer too. If you interact with customers on a daily basis, they will feel the strain as well.
No one wants to hire a person who lives inside their own little world with no regard to others. Maybe that’s why you’re not very good at your job!
You don’t think what you do, what you feel and what you say affects other people. But it does.
If you want your boss to like you and to get along with your co-workers, start by handling your money better. Maybe you can treat them to coffee occasionally.
