Keeping up with the Jones at the Workplace

Fitting into someone’s shoes could be an expensive venture, one that requires time and money.

Objectives

· To make a case for functionality ahead of fashion

· To teach people to live for themselves and not to please others.

· Emphasize the value of self improvement over self promotion

	“Jones” Are people we try to imitate their lifestyle and habits. They are people we subconsciously measure our living standard against.

Stephen was on 1.7k per annum in a Nigerian Bank before he got a plum job in an oil servicing firm in the Niger delta and he was placed on 3.5k per annum. After about 3 months in the new place of work he discovered that he was still getting broke at month end. He made a few observations about his spending pattern. A lot of things had changed about him. His taste, appetite, had changed along with his income. Parkinson law ("Parkinson's Law" states that: “expenses rise to meet income”) was in effect already. One major factor contributed to this, he was copying the ‘Jones’. He was living by the rules set by other people who did not set his personal finance goals with him. What is your personal financial goal? That is what should guide your spending and investment choices.

Stephens Expenditure on selected items

Expenditure as Bank employee 7k perfume 20k phone 3k shirt 1.8m car 1200 hair

Expenditure as Oil Company Employee 28k perfume 90k phone 15k shirt 4.5m car 4500 hair

Stephen should have considered delaying gratuity and preparing a budget to enable him have a hold over his spending. Getting the money is one thing but managing the resources is a different ball game and requires financial management skills.

The best way to make money is not to spend what you have at your disposal at the moment. If you can’t increase your income right now, you sure can reduce your expenditures. Economists make a distinction between wants and needs. Wants are the things we purchase to meet desires that are not basic or essential for survival. Expenditure on wants actually competes with what we should channel into savings and ultimately investments.

@ Oluyemi Adeosun