2 The Compass Friday, November 19,1999
Photo courtesy University Relations
Miss ECSU-Alumni and her court during liomecoming parade.
Credit Cards
Personal Finance: Sacrifice -vs- Deprivation
By James Polk
Ad Editor
Although individualized and
unique, there are certain aspects of
the "college experience" that remain
constant. Along with parties, classes
and registration is the infamous
'debt'. Although many students
may be challenged by their studies,
a more difficult challenge exists in
the allocation of personal finances.
It is an incredible task as a student to
utilize limited monetary resources
efficiently in an university environ
ment. Students, especially seniors,
stretch their resources to the limit
attempting to participate in many
activities and events. Consequently,
they find themselves in a tremen
dous amount of debt. It is possible
to decrease the accumulation of debt
by the adjustment of perception and
attitude. Ultimately this will result
in an altered personal finance
behavior.
Many students can recall times
they have promised to limit their
spending and adhere to a strict
budget. When the checks no longer
represent money and become "rub
berized", students try to abandon
them as well. The problem exist
when the ability to spend is ripped
away. It creates a feeling of lost
security, comfort and status. This
compilation of losses forces one to
feel as if they are being punished or
deprived of things they love, similar
to a . prisoner being robbed of his
freedom. Ultimately, this , feeling
perpetuates a fear of deprivation.
This fear grows so strong that any
desire to reform is overwhelmed.
For many, an interpersonal conflict
is created. Opposed to controlling
financial resources, many become
controlled by their desire to have
more. A certain amount of irony
exists - in the attempt to avoid being
deprived, many pave the way for
the ultimate deprivation. This
would include the total loss of credit
and positive financial standing
which is essential in today's society.
The whole subject of reforming
one's financial situation has two dis
tinct aspects; economics and emo
tions. Both sides demand an equal
amount of attention.
Dealing with the economic side of
personal finance is fairly simple
because it is so straightforward; it is
basic arithmetic - adding and sub
tracting. When it comes to the eco
nomics of personal finance, there are
'right' and 'wrong' answers. Advice
is readily available in thousands of
budget books and web sites.
Adversely, the emotional aspect is
the part most ignored and least dealt
with.
It is much more difficult to deal
with emotions than economics
because emotions are so subjective.
Results of emotions are seen, but not
all are understood. No one can bal
ance emotions to mathematically
project them like income and
expenses. Attempting to address
your emotional outlook on finances
is a struggle because emotions are
very powerful. Thefy have, the
intensity to overpower all economic
good senses and will render any
potential reform, completely out of
the question. After one gains control
over their emotions, they will then
realize they can replace their fear of
deprivation with the joy of sacrifice.
Sacrifice means to give up someth
ing of value for the sake of someth
ing else that is more important or
worthy. Deprivation means to have
a possession or enjoyment taken
away. Sacrifice is a beautiful con
cept. It involves purpose. Sacrifice
acknowledges a goal which is more
worthy and of greater value than the
sacrifice itself. There is no depriva
tion involved, simply a choice to
give up something of lesser value
right now, in order to have or
achieve something far more worthy.
Deprivation focuses on 'poor me'. It
turns one's eyes to only see one's
self. Sacrifice focuses on a goal and
lifts one's head up to see the long
term benefits and the big picture.
The practice of sacrifice in the con
text of changing one's financial con
dition is an art form which is
improved with practice. However,
without a purpose, a sacrifice will be
nothing more than deprivation.
Let's use the example that you are
dedicated to being debt-free three
years from now and to that end you
are willing to make the necessary
sacrifices. You need a written and
measurable plan as well as a specific
strategy that outlines exactly how
you are going to reach your goal
(purpose). You need to establish
bench marks so that you can meas
ure your progress and look back to
see how far you have come.
Focusing on the worthy cause and
visualizing its importance and value
is the way to combine the economic
and emotional sides of financial
change. Living each day with the
goal in mind and practicing how
you'll feel when that final debt is
totally wiped out is the way to emo
tional control.
In order to gain or regain full con
trol over your finances, one is com
pelled to endure some changes. The
changes you will be required to
make will be difficult. But when
you focus on the more worthy goal,
sacrifice becomes tolerable. With
practice you will see the connection
between a small sacrifice and the
great reward.
If you have decided to make the
journey to meaningful financial
change, you are going to need plenty
of support from understanding
peers. Because we are emotional
beings, we all need that support
from those who can relate to our
experiences. We thrive on that vali
dation. This is what makes the col
lege environment so conducive to
this experience. Although the ele
ments change, each student has an
equation that equals out to either
success or failure. Together we are
able to 'deposit' and 'withdraw'
from one another. Let us all be
thankful that we are not alone on the
road to solvency and financial secur
ity.