Page 13 - Book5E

miniscule and affordable at the moment, deter you from building your savings and amassing your wealth cup by cup, cone by cone. Again, the secret to living on less than you earn comes down to conscious decisions about what you need to live—and what you can live without.
Do you have some preconceived notions that you have to have a certain item (whether you need it or not) just because your family had it? A certain make of car? A house in a particular neighborhood? A boat or other summer toy? A brand of makeup? Every newspaper ad, magazine, billboard, and television commercial will urge you to act on these impulses. If you find it hard to make these decisions for your- self, you probably find it even harder when it comes to your children, especially because you want to do the best for your children. This can easily lead to overindulgence. The problem with overindulgence is it creates a generation of young people who tend to see themselves as consumers, rather than as responsible citizens of the world. They have a sense of entitlement not only to material possessions, but also to having the “best” of everything. They define their worth (and the worth of others) in terms of what they own or what they are likely to be able to have.
Do any of the following sound familiar as the reasons you indulge your children?
• My child needs the latest things to be successful in school.
• Lots of toys improve my child’s creativity.
• I can’t stand to hear my child cry, especially when we’re out.
• My child is bored if he doesn’t have toys and games to play with.
• I waited a long time to have a child and I have the right to spoil her if I want.
• I have to work long hours and don’t have much time to spend with my child, so by giving him things, he will know that I care about him.
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