When I was younger, I use to watch movies and television shows where there was a recurring plot. The “Plot” was that the nice guy (the underdog) typically suddenly has something horrible wrong happen to him/her, then later, things magically turn out to work for them. This plot is a very risky move in real life, but I see it happen all the time with some of my friends’ behaviors. Luckily, I broke myself of that kind of thinking early in college.
Don't go for broke
The problem is I still know people who still uses this kind of thinking around their finances. They believe that they can spend money they don’t have accumulating massive level of debt because they know that their personal life movie will end successfully with them being a megamillionaire (move over Buffett and Gates!)
Sometimes it may be possible, but most of the time, it doesn’t work out that way. The people I know don’t become total failures, but they now live a harder life. If they lived responsibly earlier and presently, they would be much further along financially then they are today.
Another similar problem is when friends make a financial decision (say to buy a stock) and then put the risk in Divine Intervention’s hands. I had a work colleague that said he invested his money in the company stock and when it halved he said he would reply on Divine Intervention and that it would be okay Well, surprise, it’s still down by more than 60% of what it was at the high, and when he said that it was 12 years ago. Divine Intervention didn’t tell him to put money in that stock, why does he think Divine Intervention would tell him when to pull out of it? Don’t do this, please! You are making your own financial decisions, and religion doesn’t have a place in picking stocks!
Do you know of people like my work colleague and did it work out for them?
-D
Not to bash the religious, but when I was in college, a girl in my dorm was going to get kicked out if she didn’t pass her basic math exam for the Nth time. This was her last chance. So what did she do?
Sat in her prayer circle with all her bible study friends and prayed. I know it went on forever the night before the test because they were occupying the common area which I wanted to, and couldn’t use.
I asked a mutual friend if anyone had suggested she study for the exam instead. Apparently my friend had volunteered to help her study that night, but she opted to pray instead. Needless to say, she failed her exam again and got expelled.
@thriftygal
Great, but sad story. People must realize that praying to pass a test or to achieve financial independence isn’t going to work.
That said, praying for financial independence while still staying focus and doing the require work to achieve financial independence is a winning combination. Sometimes bringing religion into financial decision gives you the courage and confidence to take the extra risk to succeed, not to mention the support of a socail circle. Afterall, going to church can be a large social network really, with a lot of potential economical benefits (as a side effect of course…).
Same with movies, sometimes the underdog just keeps losing, especially if they just wait for magic to happen. Some magical occurance isn’t going to happen, unless you make it happen! You must create your own magic and luck by focusing, working hard, using common sense, and being disipline.
Boy, this comment is almost larger than my original post 🙂
I have to say I don’t know anyone like this. Let’s hope they stay clear of my path as well! 🙂
Instead of magic I say those that fail to plan, plan to fail.
@Jane
Most of the people I know like this are good people, but just a bit financially confused.
@Ken
Yep, same inaction wrapped in different words… My gripe is that a lot of us are more than capable of achieving financial stability, if we would only try harder.
@thriftygal and Don – one of my favorite quotes is by J.G. Holland, “God gives every bird its food but He doesn’t throw it into the nest.”
It doesn’t hurt to pray or meditate on what you want but anything good in life takes actual work. ThriftyGal’s story brings to mind another quote – “There are no atheists in foxholes.” Instead of praying all night before the test to ask God to help her pass the exam a better use of her prayer time would have been to say a quick prayer before sitting down to actually study. Maybe something like “God, please help me to focus on my studies”, or “God, please help me to clear my mind so I can fully concentrate on the task before me”. Even if you don’t really believe in God or aren’t a very religious person you can see the benefit of this exercise.
@David
I don’t think thriftygal or myself were necessarily dissing religion. What we were saying is God isn’t going to do your work for you. If you have a “test to take” or “make an investment”. You (as in the public) need to follow through and make it happen!
But mainly, I want people to think for themselves. Don’t let the media brainwashing into a certain thoughts. There are no magical answers, nothing is as simple as black and white. Start thinking for yourself and start doing things! This is the core of my message! Life is too short to wait for something to happen!
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