When I consider the Monetary life I had in my twenties I wonder why I made such dumb decisions with my cash. I always had goals; such as owning a house, starting a business and traveling but what I did not have at the time was a written program. An unknown author said A goal without a strategy is merely a WISH. So I was only wishing that those things would fall out the sky and be mine.
The sad part about this way of thinking is that it becomes habit forming. A lot of people are still looking for things to fall out the sky, because without producing and working a strategy it is only a fantasy. These Kuran Malhotra wishful thinkers are living an underground financial life.
You can recognize People living this lifestyle quite readily; they do things like cash their checks at check cashing places not understanding just how much additional money they are spending on time and fees. Their mobile phone number changes often or it has disconnected several times since they have not set a budget/plan set up to factor in their monthly expenditures. They always have to borrow money and continue to have emergency after emergency; that make them lose out on life-changing chances. Are you currently living underground?
When I run into under grounders I try to give them information that will help them move towards a healthier financial lifestyle. I am careful to not put them down or seem condescending. For example a woman was telling me that a local bank refused to cash one of the two cashier’s checks they issued to her. She did not have an account with them but was issued a check from one of the clients, and that is why she went in the first location. I explained to her that the lender was not bound to serve her because she was not their client and many banks would expect someone to deposit a cashier’s check in their personal bank accounts to keep the funds. She was so upset she could see the larger picture. She was not a banking customer. Therefore they were not going to treat her like you. What was her solution to this dilemma? She simply made the decision to devote a substantial quantity of money on fees in a check cashing location rather than becoming a customer. This was sad and disappointing.