The Struggling Millennial

Are you a millennial? So probably you are in your near thirties? already thirty-ish or reached forties? Are you familiar with YOLO, Petsa de Peligro, Struggle is real, and TGIF?

I know that you recognize all of these but some people are not aware that these are some of the reasons why most of the millennials nowadays are broke. Let me share some pointers and how you can avoid experiencing these.

#YOLO. You Only Live Once. Millennials use this term especially just after receiving our paychecks or salaries and when we are about to spend in travels, shopping or just simply eating out with friends or alone. Most of the time millennials use this term to please themselves that it is okay to spend and to lessen the guilt they feel. But reminding ourselves about living only once, we also forget to save for our future and doing it becomes a habit.

As a result, as we keep pacifying ourselves that it's okay to spend, we tend to be broke even weeks before the next payday, that leads you to our next term, Petsa De Peligro. Do you know a workmate who keeps inviting to go out? Go outing or try a new café nearby? I know a friend who's married. Her husband always plans out of town trips or visiting tourist spots in the province. Sometimes, this friend of mine would share about how she is worried again because her husband is planning for another out of town like Manila, or in Tagaytay for example, during the coming weekend or if there is a long weekend during the month. She said, according to her husband they need to experience these kinds of gratification while they are still young. I just listened to her because I am not in a position to tell them what to do because it's their money, not mine. This was just an example of how YOLO can lead us to being broke.

#PetsaDePeligro. It is during the remaining days of the month before you receive your monthly salary and you try to maximize the remaining budget in order to stretch the budget until the next payday. Have you experienced receiving a salary and after receiving we feel like we are very rich and blessed and we have this mentality to keep buying things that we added to our cart few days ago? Or buy that food we've been craving for? Or join a group of friends or workmates who are inviting you to unwind? Then you suddenly realized that your money will not last until the next payday and you practice your special skills in budgeting a hundred pesos to make it last for 5 days. I often see memes telling about their special skills like, they can spend a thousand pesos in a single day, and stretch a hundred pesos to fit into 5 days budget. Also, there are people posting memes like, 'what I eat on payday and what I eat few days after payday' showing an expensive food on the former picture then something that is on a tight budgeted meal on the latter.

#Struggleisreal. it is when an individual is experiencing difficult situation, but most of time millennials use this term to exaggerate one's situation to acquire sympathy especially in social media. In this aspect, we will use 'struggle is real' next to petsa de peligro.

After making yourself believe that you only live once, and that you deserve to relax and enjoy your hard-earned money, you experience petsa de peligro after realizing that you only have few money in your pocket to spend for the next payday. You will now say struggle is real because you have to budget all your meals, for the coming days and weeks.

Sometimes, in order to save money you bring packed food from your house than buying or reheat your left over from previous meal. You also say no to friends when they invite you to eat somewhere, and the worse, there are times you just keep drinking water to make yourself feel full so you will not crave or eat too much or borrow money from friends or workmates if you really don't have enough budget.

#TGIF or Thank God Its Friday! Through the influence of social media, people rediscovered nature. Although social media helps us learn things as it gives us information especially in current events, too much exposure to it can also cause burn out and stress. That is why traveling became an escape to many Filipinos in order to recharge, reflect and reconnect with nature. Another reason why people keep looking forward to Fridays especially long weekends. Also, when its Friday, friends would invite you to relax and eat somewhere to treat yourself or unwind after a long and tiring workday.

These are the terms you will hear coming from a millennial.  Knowing the reasons why they don't save money or fail to budget their salaries. We know these terms but talking about savings, do most millennials nowadays have it? Are millennials conscious about their spending habits?

Budgeting is one of the keys. Make a list of your priorities after each payday and make sure to spend just your allotted money for YOLO. Make sure that you save some for rainy days and avoid the "one day millionaire" habit.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying our own hard-earned money, especially if it makes us happy and motivated to go back to work. But, as the lyrics of the song says, "too much love will kill you", (not to that extent I hope), if it's too much already, and it is making you lend money from others just to enjoy, soon it will cause you stress.

Try to balance your lifestyle, allocate a budget during the month if it's for coffee, a trip, or buying something expensive, but do not forget to prioritize saving for rainy days. Always remember, live within your means.

If you see vloggers or influencers often travel locally or abroad? Or shows what they eat in a day. Do not be envious. sometimes you think they're cool because they're 'splurging' or showing off, but it is actually part of their jobs. They earn from promoting, brands and they get invited to try these restaurants, Lucky for them, but how about you? Save as much and be moneywise!

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https://adventuwriter.wordpress.com/2023/05/22/the-struggling-millennial/