Whenever I hear people around me complain about the rising living costs due to inflation, war and increased taxes, I can’t help but really just want to speak to them the truth especially late millennials and gen Z kids.

No doubt, it is true that consumer good prices have increased significantly over the years, housing getting less affordable, rents are spiking, COE has reached its all-time high, fuel price has gone up, and the list goes on.

However, do people especially kids these days do their part to overcome this situation?

The short answer is NO, as most people that I know including friends and family, and uni mates, they all don’t really treat this as a serious issue, and it’s just sickening to see how people complain everyday without putting some serious effort.

Let me list out a few “hobbies” or in other words, “entertainments” that youngsters do nowadays. Every now and then I see friends sharing stories of their staycations, and their frequency can be as high as once every 1-2 months.

Youngsters also don’t refrain themselves from frequently dining at places like HDL, beauty in a pot, din tai fung, and a whole bunch of fancy cafes and restaurants. It’s so terrifying to the point where it has actually become mandatory that one must dine in at least once a week at some fancy eatery, and I honestly ain’t sure if they realize that. Starbucks or coffee bean has become a usual hangout spot to “study” too, and they can easily order food and drink that cost up to $20-30 per pax.

The convenience of cabbing just makes basic transportation even more accessible that they can just Grab without even actually trying their best to settle for buses or MRT. I personally know a few friends and acquaintances who already got platinum tier for Grab. “I’m lazy”, “it’s too far”, “I don’t wanna wake up so early”, “it’s raining”, “I just wanna chill”, so on and so forth, these are the common excuses to spend tens of dollars just for a short period of unurgent convenience.

I think I don’t even have to point out branded goods and limited-edition clothing and sneakers that youngsters don’t mind forking out hundreds of dollars for per item. Is it also necessary to purchase the latest phone models? I don’t get why people can’t just buy only when necessary or at least wait till the next model releases and buy the current model as its price drops.

There is no need to attend every single one of your friend’s birthday, and instead, do kindly wish them and just go for those whom you’re closer with. If you have friend’s birthday all the way from January till December, and for each birthday, the expenses are unexpected because it’s not up to you to decide the venue and type of birthday celebration, you’ll only end up being a broke-ass. Please have some decency to reject politely, and if rejection would only cause them to be unhappy with you, then congratulations, as you’ve just witnessed the true side of your “friends”.

It’s totally fine not to invest your money if you don’t wanna risk losing money, but at least don’t let your cash flow out so quickly, and have some proper control over your money. You can’t control the government’s plan, as well as the happenings all over the world that negatively impacts your financial situation, but I believe there are a ton of simple and implementable ways to reduce your unnecessarily hefty expenses.

So stop complaining and do your part if you don’t wanna go broke!”