Seven Deadly Sins Of Your Finances- How Many Are You Guilty Of?

Recently I came across this article by The Simple Sum Singapore on the Seven Deadly Sins of Your Finances, and I felt that this is an interesting perspective to share with everyone. 

1)    Pride: Ego Over Money is Your Motto

Personally I do not think that I am guilty of this.  I am a self-employed full time private tutor since 2015.  In the past 7 years, there are good times and bad, and the number of students I managed to get varies.  In periods where I am unable to get enough students for myself, I do not hesitate to apply to work part time in tuition centers, where I get to supplement my income by conducting 1 to 2 extra lessons per week.  Income from tuition centers is much lower than the income I can earn from private tutoring (only about half and the rest go to the tuition center), thus personally I think I view money over ego for now, at least before I achieve financial independence.

2)    Greed: More Is Better To You

I suppose I am guilty of this sometimes.  1 for 1 offers is definitely irresistible to me, especially if it's applied to buffets.  However, in my defense, I will ensure that the greed only applies to things that relates to me, so either for F&B or things I have use for.  

However, 'get-rich-quick' schemes do not work on me.  I am not attracted by promises of high returns and high interest/ yields are actually alarming signals to me (think US REITs currently).  Of course, I may be wrong and miss out the superbly good opportunities, but I prefer to err of the side of caution.  Better be safe than sorry!

3)    Lust: Once You Fall For Something, You Must Have It

When I was younger, before 30 years old, I have to admit that I am not able to resist temptations from items that I like.  As such, I have a small collection of MacDonald Toys (which I have no use for them now other than collecting dust at home- and NO, I am not one of them who queued for Hello Kitty and broke the glass, lol), and also a small collection of Digimon figurines, which are now also being displayed at home, and serves no other purpose (I like Digimon much more than Pokemon!).  

However as I grew older and decided to pursue FIRE, I became more financially sensitive and responsible for myself.  With regards to items that I like, I will usually assess if I have any concrete use for it, before I am tempted to buy.  Otherwise, I think that I am quite able resist temptations in items that may intrigue my interests but in the longer term I have no concrete use for it.

4)    Envy: You Need To Have The Latest 'It' Item Always

I am quite sure I am not guilty of this.  I am ok with using old(-er) stuff.  I do not need the latest phone, the latest tablet etc.  I am contented with a simple smart phone with the ability to access internet and Whatsapp.  Friends of mine will know that I dress simply and live simply.  Latest trends of accessories and gadgets do not entice me.

5)    Gluttony: More Food Is Always Better

I am sorry but I have almost zero resistance towards food, and I am definitely guilty.  Sadly, or not, I am one who value quantity over quality (I desperately need to change this so that my health is not compromised any further).  Buffets are top on the list for me, but on days with buffet, I will only have that one meal for the day.  Personally, I do not think that this is a financial sin for me, but a 'health sin', as I value quantity over quality, at value-for-money prices.  

For a good retirement life in future, health is of utmost importance.  I got to cut down drastically on this before it turns back to bite me.

6)    Wrath: My Lost Vacations Need To Be Avenged

I am guilty of this after I turn 30.  In my childhood and teenage years, I did not have much opportunity to travel out of the country (besides daily travel between Malaysia and Singapore due to studies) because my dad is the sole breadwinner of a family of 6, and he works hard.  In addition, my paternal grandmother is afraid of taking ships or planes due to motion sickness, so being a filial son to his mother, my dad only arranged local trips within Malaysia by car.  I am not complaining, because I do not see the need to travel in the past.  I am quite a hermit before 30 years old.  However as I got older, the rise of social media and the many overseas posts by friends and relatives made me rethink what I may be missing out.  

After my dad retires, my brother and I began planning to bring our parents to different places, to make up for lost time.  Sadly, we were only able to bring the whole family to Sydney, Chiang Mai, and lastly to the Royal Caribbean Cruise.  Now we can only continue the travels with my mum.  Hopefully I can continue to bring her to visit the places she yearns to visit.

Personally, I also ventured into solo trips, which I find myself to enjoy thoroughly, to Phnom Penh, Bangkok and Bali.  I am only looking at ASEAN countries for now, as I am still in the pursuit of Barista FIRE, so I need to keep my personal expenses in check, while giving myself intermittent breathing space.

7)    Sloth: You Strive To Use As Little Effort As Possible, No Matter The Cost

I suppose I am not guilty of this.  I never take Grab or Taxi in Singapore, only bus, MRT or walk.  Being alone in Singapore, I will exchange time for money.  Waking up early to spend time travelling is the preferred option for me, instead of rushing via Grab.  Even when I am overseas alone for solo trips, I walk a lot more and almost never Grab around (yup, 30k steps a day when I was in Bangkok!).

This was also the case in my path to chase miles.  In 2022, I decided to participate in the miles game with HSBC Revolution and DBS Altitude card.  Though I wanted to earn miles, but I remained conscious of my spending and consolidated the spendings to these 2 cards.  It is a great help that DBS Altitude card has no expiry date for the miles earned (for now), so I can slowly accumulate the miles for 3 years (before the miles in HSBC Revolution card expires), and hopefully exchange for a business class trip with my mum to let her enjoy and experience it (we always took budget airlines).

Overall, I believe there is always room for improvement for everyone, including myself.  However, there is always time of weaknesses where I may need to pamper myself a little (through buffets and travels) to make life more live-worthy, despite my journey towards Barista FIRE.  Nonetheless, hope everyone gets to evaluate yourself and understand yourself a little bit more through this post!  Do visit the original post by The Simple Sum Singapore with interesting comic visuals!  Barista FIRE, here I come...!