Beware of This Silent Career Killer: The Revenge Spending Trap
Landing a foreign gig in the tech industry often feels like a monumental achievement, a ticket to financial comfort, and a gateway to affording the glamorous things in life. It’s a goal many of us tirelessly work towards, and when we finally achieve it, there’s a natural inclination to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of our labor. But before you dive headfirst into unrestrained spending, it’s important to pause and reflect on the implications of your newfound financial freedom.
Many people subscribe to the notion of “crossing the bridge when we get there” when it comes to money. While optimism is certainly a positive trait, there’s a spending behavior that often accompanies sudden financial windfalls — revenge spending. It’s the urge to spend money not necessarily to derive value but to increase expenses conspicuously, often to prove a point.
Interestingly, our spending habits can be heavily influenced by our family backgrounds and early life experiences. If you spent years being denied luxuries due to financial constraints, there’s a natural inclination to splurge when money is no longer an issue. The desire to shed the image of the struggling individual and flaunt wealth can be irresistible.
As a tech professional, it’s essential to be vigilant about falling into the revenge spending trap. It’s remarkably easy to lose focus and squander hard-earned money on frivolous indulgences. This isn’t to suggest that you shouldn’t enjoy the rewards of your labor, but rather that you should do so with an acute awareness of where you’ve come from and how it may impact your spending habits.
In 2022, I had the privilege of working on a project with Facebook. It was an exciting opportunity, and naturally, I wanted to share my success with friends and family. Their immediate response was a chorus of advice — get a new car, move to a better apartment, and upgrade your lifestyle. It made me question the wisdom of such counsel.
This was a contract job, not a permanent opportunity, and I recognized the dangers of heedless spending. Instead of rushing into drastic changes, I chose a different path. I invested some money in enhancing my current car, making it more appealing, a decision that cost me less than $500. I decided to stay in my current apartment and instead invested the majority of my earnings in a tangible asset. Today, I still own that asset, even though the contract ended in the same year.
While we tirelessly seek better opportunities, it’s important to ask yourself: Are you prepared for what comes next? I’ve witnessed numerous people go from financial security to ground zero after their monthly inflow ceased. It’s a reminder that revenge spending is a genuine threat, and awareness is the first step to preventing its inadvertent onset.
These four pieces of advice can help you avoid falling into the revenge spending trap and maintain financial stability throughout your career.
Establish Clear Financial Goals:
Define your financial objectives early on, including short-term and long-term goals. Knowing what you’re saving for, whether it’s a home, investment, or retirement, will help you resist the urge to spend recklessly.
Create a Budget and Stick to It:
Develop a realistic budget that covers your monthly expenses, savings, and discretionary spending. Adhere to this budget diligently to ensure you’re managing your finances wisely.
Prioritize Investments Over Liabilities:
Invest in assets that can appreciate in value rather than spend on liabilities that depreciate. Owning appreciated assets can secure your financial future.
Seek Financial Education:
Continuously educate yourself about personal finance and investments. The more you understand about money management, the better equipped you’ll be to make prudent financial decisions.
In the pursuit of foreign gigs and the financial stability they promise, it’s vital not to lose sight of the bigger picture. Revenge spending may seem harmless at first, but its long-term consequences can be dire. Let’s celebrate our successes wisely, invest in our future, and ensure that our hard-earned money serves us well beyond the present. After all, the true measure of success lies not in what we can afford today, but in the enduring financial security we build for tomorrow.
Stay Inspired❤️
Temidayo
