Tips to Simplify Our Spending

Bengalis are known for an intellectual bent of mind and are known to live life on values and ideals.

Money has been important in Bengali society , but is not considered to be everything in life.

Sadly,modern  Bengalis  are not immune from the rush for the material trappings of modern society.For some money has become more important than values.

Bengalis in some places literally compete to see who has the bigger house, the nicest cars and clothes or the most expensive education.

Here are some tips to help you simplify your life’s material side, and see the bigger picture.

attain good in the next.

 Make your will

This may be scary but it will give you a true picture of where you are and where you have or want to be. Who doesn’t want to die debt-free, with money left for loved ones? By making a will, you will see the bigger picture-how much you owe, how much you have left to give-and it could provide the much needed kick in the pants many of us need to start doing things we have to do to get our financial house in order.

 Question your sources of income

Is it based on honesty? Where is my money coming from? These are life-changing questions.

 Make a personal financial plan a second grader could understand

When people hear budget, they may think of cold accountants expressionlessly number crunching over a stack of papers. But your personal budget does not have to be this way. If you like computers, get a program that can help you do this. If not, get a notebook or folder and start doing this. Make it simple. Picture yourself as a second grader and ask yourself how you would budget your money. Remember, the only math functions you really need for this are what you probably learned in grade two: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, that’s all.

The purpose is to help you identify where your money is really going, how you can pay off debts and spend your money more wisely.

 Write down and pay off all of your debts

Write down every debt that you have and incorporate repayment of all of your debts into your personal financial plan. In fact, set a specific part of your income whenever you receive it for this purpose only. Just start. Don’t wait to have a big amount.

 Avoid buying unless you’ve got the money

It’s this very attitude that promoters of the credit card seek to change. They want you to think that this silly piece of plastic is the ticket to happiness. It means you can buy when, where and how you want.

Not true. Remember, if you buy on credit, you will have to deal with the stress of paying off this bill before the interest kicks in. If you don’t, the original price will keep increasing.

Try to reduce borrowing

Unless it’s really necessary, avoid borrowing money, even if it’s interest-free from a relative or friend. This just adds to the stress of constantly remembering that you have to pay someone back and it takes away from your ability to spend on what is really important. In some cases, it can have a negative effect on relationships with people

 Don’t use shopping as a fix

Shopping is not simply a mechanical activity in our culture. It’s what many do when they are depressed or want to have a good time. Whether it’s the teenagers who hang out at the mall, or those who see getting groceries on Saturdays as a family trip, shopping has become recreation. Make a rule that you will not go shopping unless you have an exact item you want to buy or some real work to do. Then take up some other interesting activity to replace your fix.

 Try to avoid shopping without a list

And stick to it, even if there are only one or two items on it. Normally, people use this for groceries but the concept can be extended to buying clothes, shoes, etc. If you can stick to the list, you can see beyond the fancy marketing gimmicks at the front of the store and just walk right to wherever you have to go, get what you have to get, and leave without being suckered into buying some useless knickknack or other object on sale that day.

 Set a quota for your obsessions

Tell yourself you will not spend more than say, Rs 2000  per month on things that aren’t really necessary, but you like to have (i.e. lots of clothes, chocolate, junk food, computer games and videos, etc.) or whatever your obsession is. Then keep only this amount in your wallet. Don’t withdraw any more from your account.

 Give, give, give

Charity does not decrease wealth. Be on the lookout for opportunities to give.

Treat interest like the disgusting thing that it is

Treat interest like what it is: a disgusting disease that enslaves people and makes them miserable. Be conscious of it and avoid it at all costs, no matter how little. Encourage others to do the same.

Save a specific percentage of your money

This is not so you can hoard lots of money. Emergencies happen. Your savings can help you out here. Or you lose your job and you’re the sole supporter of your family. Your savings can help you in the short-term by at least covering the bare necessities until some other arrangement is worked out.

 Resist the urge to “keep up with the Neighbours”

The Boses got a new house. But then the Sinhas got a bigger one. In response the Ghoshes got a mansion. And the cycle continues. This kind of competition for material things is another example of material enslavement. Resist the urge to keep up with the Neighbours or anyone else for that matter. If the pressure is too intense, consider widening your circle of friends to those who don’t base their relationship with you on how much money you make or how many cars you have.

 If you can, chuck the T.V. or reduce how often your kids, especially, watch it

Television is one of the best things to ever happen to peddlers of toys, weight loss gimmicks and insecurity. Getting rid of it or reducing its consumption, especially for your kids, will decrease the need to buy the latest action figure, Barbie and what not. That doesn’t mean the desire will go away. But when kids (adults as well) are not bombarded with daily messages feeding on their need to have the same toys or insecurities their friends have, these items will have less importance and help reduce the need to use material things as a source of personal satisfaction.

 Imagine yourself as a traveler

What do you notice about travelers? They are focused on their destination, and keep very few things that will load them down.

Why street food is harmful?

Everyone loves to eat out occasionally, and that includes eating street food from the street vendors, Here are a few reasons why they pose a threat and why is it best to avoid them.

Colors and chemicals

Ever wondered what makes mango juice and ice golas so bright orange and peas look green and fresh? Its metanil yellow and malachite green, the textile dyes, which despite being banned, are used as food colouring agents. They are carcinogenic (can cause cancer) and mutagenic (can change genetic information of the embryo) and are responsible for liver damage and tumors.

Huge amount of cooked soda used for easy cooking of chole and rice produces lot of carbon dioxide in the body, resulting in uneasiness and stomach upset.

Hygine

Meats shelf life is 16 hours, after which it starts decaying to produce botulinum  toxin, one of the most poisonous naturally occurring substances in the world. If the meat is not processed properly, the intestine of the chicken, fish and crabs could contain allergens like e-coli and salmonella, which could cause urinary track infection, severe itching, swelling of hands and feet.

As the stalls are usually located by the roadside, food is continuously exposed to harmful vehicular emission. Next time you choose to eat out, colera and diarrheoa might just be lurking around the roadside shop.

Oil

Street food uses oil is reheated, making it oxidized. Also it loses essential fatty acids .

Quality

Ingredients like potato, besan quality may be either be stale or of inferior quality .

 

Contemporary Lifestyle

There is something about modern life that has reduced the individual to a constantly pleasure-seeking being. In our efforts to round our lives with luxury goods, we often forget to fill the material world with meaning.

Many people fill it with spirituality and religion, while others take it for what it is. Interestingly, the many people, who lined the material world with their religion and faith, are changing.
This change in the belief, practice and faith of religion is propelled by the youth of today. They have found a new way to retain their spirituality, but have morphed the traditional views on religion to make compatible with their contemporary life.