The reason why people start by saying, 'Since there is no room in the household budget...'

I will think about the reason why people start by saying, 'Since there is no room in the household budget...'

If I were to start by saying, 'I have never felt that there is no room in my household budget,' I would likely be heavily criticized. I dared to make a statement that sounds like looking down from a very high place.

'Mako-san, that's because you're rich.'

I can almost hear voices saying that. I didn't start writing on note for such a trivial boast.

Of course, when talking with friends, I have used 'Since there is no room in the household budget...' as a preamble to read the room, but in reality, I have never felt that way.

Am I rich?
What is the definition of being rich?

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When I was in my 20s and 30s, my income was below the Japanese average monthly income. In other words, there was a period when I belonged to the general category of being poor. It was a time when, due to the folly of youth, the salary I earned was spent rapidly on entertainment expenses. I had no savings. Even then, it means I didn't feel that 'there was no room in the household budget.'

In other words, I think it might not be proportional to income or savings.

People with an absolute income of 3 million yen and households with over 10 million yen both use the same line, 'Since there is no room in the household budget...'

The company I used to work for was a company with a high average income, so it is generally imaginable that there was room. Even so, I often heard this line, 'Since there is no room in the household budget...' from my colleagues.

It is an impossible line when considering the absolute income. When I think about the psychology of why people want to use this line, it is probably a preamble.

Actually, I think it is a preamble just to say the line that follows.

Because there is no room in the household budget → cannot do it, or
Because there is no room in the household budget → cannot buy it, or

It is a preamble to say this 'cannot do' or 'cannot buy.' 'Since there is no room in the household budget' is just an excuse. It is not about whether there is actually room or not.

They are likely using it to proceed with daily conversation without causing ripples in interpersonal relationships.

The real intention is,
that they themselves do not intend to purchase,
that they themselves cannot decide,
that they themselves do not intend to take action

And since it is painful to blame oneself for being inadequate, aren't they overusing 'Since there is no room in the household budget...' as blaming others?

It is a convenient phrase.

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Just like Mako-san's line at the beginning, rather than saying 'I have extra money in my household budget' as a Japanese person and being envied, it seems that saying 'I don't have any extra money' and pretending to be part of the poor group is an essential means of belonging to a group that licks each other's wounds.
(Reference article →Licking each other's wounds)

This is a typical example of a trivial sense of belonging.

Even so, there are some strong-willed people who insist on that excuse, saying, 'Really, really, really, I don't have any extra money.' I wonder if they really have to go that far to defend themselves, protect their own interests, and say they can't do something because of money?

Many students, no matter how little money they have, have the knack for working part-time to earn some pocket money to get by and enjoying the day to the fullest. They gain a sense of fulfillment and feel happy.

Why is it that when we become adults, even though we should be able to save money, we lose this feeling?

They want to blame money, saying they can't do something because they don't have it, and emphasize reasons why they can't do things or why they don't take action. This tendency to blame others severely stunts a person's growth. It looks as if they are abandoning the happy feelings that come from satisfaction and fulfillment.

Well, it doesn't really matter to me, though.

I want to do this!
I want to be able to do this!
Even after expressing a strong desire, they say, 'I guess it can't be helped because I don't have the money.'

This statement is a line that shifts the blame for why they can't do something, claiming that while they have the motivation, there is a barrier of money. It's just self-protection. Since they are using it without even knowing what they are protecting themselves from, there is no way to deal with it.

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Another possible reason is that the desire to 'do something' might be a lie. They probably don't really want to do it seriously.

If you were serious, why don't you just borrow money and do it? If you don't, then that's the extent of your desire.

If there is someone who truly has a serious desire to accomplish something, I will invest in that person. It's financial support. It's fine if it's not paid back.

When I tell my friends this, some of them say, 'Then give it to me.'

'No, you guys aren't serious, are you? In the first place, even without being supported, you have that much money, don't you!'

I think I started donating because I had this psychology. The children in the Philippines tell me what they want to become seriously. And unlike in Japan, they really don't have any money. That's why I want to provide financial support. After all, it's a donation.

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Having talked this far, I feel like everything could be solved not by the absolute amount of money, but by whether or not one has peace of mind, when deciding whether one has 'extra money' or 'no extra money'.

It's no good because you are making the presence or absence of money thestarting point for action. Just by makingwhether you really want to do itthe starting point, people are driven to take action.

Looking at my high-income friends, considering that many of them say this line even though they have money they can't spend, it's simply that they don't have peace of mind. And, in truth, it's probably not something they really want to do that much.

Friends who are too sensitive to the atmosphere worry that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down, and there are people who suppress their actions because they don't want to be hammered.

I don't think I had peace of mind since I was young, but I made what I really wanted to do the starting point of my actions. However, I remember recklessly pursuing what I wanted to do.

That's why, even when I had almost no income, I don't think I felt like I didn't have any room in my budget. It might have been unplanned, but I spent all the money I had on entertainment.

Now that I'm this age, when I look back on my sense of money, it's not about whether the absolute value is high or low, but whether what I'm trying to buy is something I really want, or something I can do without; that judgment criterion has become clear.

Summary of today

For those who like to use the phrase, 'I don't have any room in my household budget...', I would like you to reconsider the credibility of the lines that follow.

If it's something you really want, buy it. If it's something you can do without, practice not making silly excuses like 'I don't have any room in my household budget'.

I wrote today's article thinking that by doing so, your life might take a turn for the better.

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