Money. It's what makes the world go round, so they say. We complain when we don't have enough of it (and we frequently never seem to). But whenever a lot of it rolls our way, many of us don't know what to do with it!
Spend wisely, we're told. But how often do we heed that advice?
Maybe it's a case of having more money than sense. Or perhaps, a case of getting too careless and giddy with excitement when having in one's possession, large amounts of cash.
Having recently got wind of some real-life anecdotes and stories during a group discussion - they all served to illustrate that the Urge to Splurge, does sometimes override one's common sense.
A shoe-a-holic confided how she succumbed to temptation with a pair of Jean Paul Gaultier heels - and then wore them only once. With the price tag of nine hundred dollars, it may have been an expensive indulgence for her, (not to mention completely unaffordable for others).
It was a quick "Hi and Goodbye" for another fashionista who decided to spontaneously invest in a pair of three hundred dollar Ray Bans (before accidentally leaving them behind in a fast food restaurant a few weeks later). They were never seen again.
Pre-paid purchases might seem like a money-saving idea at the time, (as long as you make time for yourself to use them). One eager fitness buff paid nearly a thousand dollars for a year-long gym membership, but could never find the time to use it. The gym was the clear winner in that case.
Then there was a case of a music lover who confessed to having once spent ten grand on a baby grand, and hardly touched it afterwards. An expensive ornament for the living room.
Have a need for speed? One guy spent the equivalent of nearly a year's salary on a bike, which he says is now little more than an exhibition piece in his garage.
Hearts went out to the girl who spent the equivalent of half her month's salary on a diamond white gold pendant. And then promptly lost it.
To what lengths would you go to keep your loved ones happy? Perhaps not as far as some local Romeos and Juliets.
A few of our besotted friends told of how generously they treated their paramours to top-notch restaurants, gadgets and clothes (only to be dumped by the focus of their affections when the money ran out).
Girlfriends revealed of how they took care of their boyfriends' handphone bills. Inevitably, things ended badly when the girls discovered mysterious, unknown numbers on their boyfriends' phone bill statements (which turned out to belong to other girls).
Some of us learn from more bitter - and more expensive - mistakes. One enamoured young man confided that he'd spent 80 thousand dollars "marrying the wrong woman". She is now, (for better or worse) no longer married to him. His advice? Choose wisely before making that Big Commitment.
Another young Romeo spent mountains of cash, to take his fiancee's family on a shopping holiday. Unfortunately for him, his fiancée left him later on, to marry someone else.
And there was a girl who went to great lengths and took out a personal loan to buy her boyfriend a brand new car. She's still paying it off now, even though he's long gone.
The moral of the next stories? Hobbies are a great way to spend your time. Just be careful how you spend your money.
A Tiger Woods wannabe confessed that he'd spent a small fortune on golf clubs, which did nothing to improve his game. Maybe he should have used the cash on lessons instead.
One budding artist with big ambitions, spent a small fortune on art materials - but in the end, had no time to use them. She confessed she might as well donate her purchases to an art school.
Beauty and looks play a big part in budgets, whether you're a man or a woman.
One prematurely aging individual, admitted to spending thousands of dollars on hair loss products, (which unfortunately did nothing to help his hair loss).
A keen salesperson possessing some very slick skills, somehow managed to sell a couple of hundred dollars worth of makeup, to a customer, who turned out not to be so cosmetically inclined after all. Half a decade later, the once-eager customer confessed that the makeup is still in a box, untouched.
"If at first you don't succeed: buy, buy again", seems to be the motto for others. One dissatisfied consumer owned up, to having nine different brands of hair irons, none of which had given her the straight, glossy results as promised and portrayed on the boxes.
Tinted car windows being as illegal as they are, might be seen by the more prudent, as a high risk investment for one's hard earned cash. So think twice before getting them installed! One car enthusiast didn't, only to find the traffic police waiting for him afterwards, who had him promptly remove them.
These were all true-life lessons that were learned the hard way.
And finally, a man who pleaded poverty was recently given a windfall to help relieve his financial burdens and support his family. The next day, neighbours spotted him, pulling into his driveway in a brand new sporty BMW!
Got any extra cash to spare?
If one can't use it wisely, as the Imams recently preached in a Friday sermon - maybe it would be safer in a bank.
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