“Does everybody know what time it is?”
That’s right, it’s nearing the end of the month. Payday is coming up! But you know what that means – it’s “budget crunch-time”. You can see it in the streets and you can feel it in the air. The pubs are less busy, the people are more stressed out, and every average person thinks just a little more about everything they buy. This week’s cultural topic of the week is:
MONEY
The mayor of London just recently proposed a raise in the minimum pay grade for the people of his city. Talk is now ongoing about ways to raise the current minimum wage to what they refer to as a “livable minimum wage”. The minimum wage in England is based on marginal age brackets, whereby, the worker’s age will dictate how much they are entitled to based on the national minimum wage standards. Workers aged 16 and 17 can make as little as £3/h and minimum wage for anyone over 18 is £5.05/hr. Average wage for Youth (under 25) in London and surrounding area is somewhere in around £5.60/hr, Luckily for me, I make more than that. The astounding part of this statistic roll-out is that by the mayor’s estimations, working fulltime hours, the average person in London will need a wage of somewhere between £6.70-7.15/hr to maintain an acceptable standard of living.
(Many studies suggest that room-shares are not an acceptable standard of accommodation, which puts most student and foreigner housing out on the street (though not literally).)
London is currently ranked number five on the top 50 most expensive cities in the world, based on housing, food, clothing, household goods, transportation, and entertainment, relative to wages. Moscow ranked number one, followed by Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong placed higher, respectively. After London are Osaka, Geneva, Copenhagen, Zurich, Oslo, New York. So take THAT you stats lovers.
The way I see it, there are three major types of people who are (employed and) broke and for obvious reasons, the reasons you are broke can be different.
1. The self-nominated broke. This is the kind of broke that most people wouldn’t really mind being, if they had to be some kind of broke. These people decided at one point everyday that if they are to hit their savings goals, they must stick to a budget in order to do so. Generally, pretty forward looking people and don’t mind going out for a drink every once in a while, as long as they haven’t already spent too much that day. Probably have aspirations to own something grand in the future and by being responsible spenders, they are able to do this. Straight up, this is probably the best kind of broke to be. Chick-Ching!
2. The Budgetarily Broke”. Budget broke people are the people who make just enough to survive healthily. They eat well, but often cook at home because eating out costs a little too much. These people are on a strict budget and though you may actually still have money in the bank, they are not willing to exceed it. If they spend too much that day, they’ll be into the red. Credit cards debts are avoidable, but it’s not going to be easy. Frugal – that’s a nice word for it.
3. The Broke Broke. Budget? What’s that. This is bad. Broke broke people spend more money than they should and by the time they figure out they’re dwindling in the cashflow region, it’s too late. This is why overdraft was invented. These people are the reasons banks make money every quarter, and this is why credit card companies love getting people into debt. Problem is, these non-planning broke broke people won’t ever even get approved for even ONE credit card, even though they’ll need a WHOLE BUNCH just to make it out alive…
Over the years, I’ve had a handful of credit cards, and admittedly, most of them were just so that I could get a free coffee mug, or baseball cap I never wore, or Calgary Flames toque, or a Calgary Stampede bandana, or a University of Calgary t-shirt size XL that I would never be able to fit into, or whatever. Point is, I’ve had a few, but I’ve actually only kept one – and even the one I’ve kept I’ve never used beyond the money I actually already had in the bank. That’s pretty good, I reckon.
For me, budgeting in the past has been relatively easy. Steady income makes for steady allowances, and little spending on consumer goods makes for more spending on beer goods. In England, just like in most developed countries, depending on the employer, workers may be paid weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly. I am unfortunate enough to be in the latest group. But it’s kind of good. Monthly, they lay out the cash and, daily, you work with it. Simple, right? WRONG. Rents are paid weekly here in sunny London and since you often don’t get paid for the first month of a new job, you may be stranded with no choice by to pay out English prices with tons of your Canadian savings. Hypothetical? Not so much…
Anyway, people always talk about living life to the fullest, and how money can’t buy happiness, and how poor people lead more fulfilling lives, blah blah blah. Hate to say it, but though I am generally an optimist, I’ll have to go with the as eternal pessimist on this one: money definitely make living life a whole lot easier.
Damn, if only I could win the lottery…
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