Jerry pulled up to his office and honked the horn. In no time, he was surrounded by his friends who were admiring his new 2019 SUV outfitted with all the bells and whistles. They congratulated him. A few even jumped in and begged him to take them on a spin which he happily did.

However, Jerry’s best friend, Leroy, remained silent throughout all the cheers and congratulations being offered, as he knew Jerry recently moved back home with his parents and had loads of credit card debt. How then could he afford to pay for this luxury vehicle? Leroy shook his head in disgust and went back to his desk. He wanted no part of this tomfoolery.

What Leroy knew, which the others didn’t, was that

Jerry was living a lifestyle he could not afford. In his effort to show the

world that he was successful, he tried to live a life that seemed flashy, hype

and exciting. But in truth, he was drowning in bills.

Jerry is no different from many of us who try to, not only keep up with the Joneses, but ‘one up’ them. This constant promotion of status over substance has people pretending that money is not a problem. But at nights they eat ramen noodle for dinner because they cannot even afford to pay for groceries.

We all have friends like Jerry, who will turn up

their noses at certain areas when hunting for a place to live. They aspire to

live in Cherry Gardens on a Norman Gardens budget. As my granny would say, they

have champagne taste with a bag juice pocket! In no time, after living in these

posh areas, they can no longer afford to pay the rent, and they start hiding from

the landlord or they stop transferring funds to his/her account.

There is nothing wrong with wanting better for oneself. Everyone needs to have dreams and aspirations that they can work towards in the future. The problem lies when we don’t want to put in the hard work which may take a few years. Rome was not built in a day, and neither will your empire. Instead of taking out a loan to go to Dream Weekend, you can have a house party with your friends and spend next to nothing if it is potluck style or a bring your own bottle soiree.

You cannot live lavishly on a shoestring budget, and anyone who tells you otherwise is either a fool or is waiting to see you fall on your face. Hold yuh position and steadily build your nest egg. Have faith that your time will come.

— Written by C.W.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of BUZZ or its employees.