3 Things Being Broke Can Teach You

I don’t think there’s a living soul on this earth that wants to be broke or enjoys being broke. But I’m sure at one point or the other, most of us have experienced being broke to an extent.

To be honest, being broke is not a pleasant experience at all, but unfortunately, on the journey to riches, most of us have to go through this trying period to get to where we want.

My service year was actually the "brokest" I have ever been, and despite the fact that it was difficult and I wished I had millions of naira in my account, I was also happy for the experience because it taught me a few valuable lessons that only experience can teach and I believe I’m better for it.

If you can’t afford it, you don’t need it!

I’ve honestly learnt to "unlook"  items I know my pocket cannot carry, if it is above my means, it simply isn't important to me and is not necessary to my existence at that point in time. If I have lived without it before now, I can certainly live without it after now, or simply find a cheaper alternative.

If you don’t have an immediate need for it, don’t buy it!

The urge is usually there to buy something that “I might need, you never know” but mehn, if you don’t have immediate need for it, move along! I’ve learnt to enter a store and head straight in the direction that has what I need, every other part of the store becomes a complete blur to me. I call it shopping with purpose.

Manage what you have

The two lessons highlighted above all boil down to learning to manage what is available. Instead of buying a plate of food at a fast food restaurant, you may decide to spend half of that money to go to the market and cook a pot of stew with it. So if you ever find yourself tempted to buy fast food that's too expensive for your pocket, you can always remind yourself that there is rice at home!

It is actually difficult to see the lessons to learn from being broke at that moment when you are broke, but I hope this post helps you see the brighter side of things and just so you know, being broke is a temporary situation that will pass eventually, just stay consistent and keep working hard and it'll pass faster than you know.

I would love to hear from you guys, has being broke taught you any lessons in the past? or is it currently teaching you any lessons? Please share in the comments section below, someone somewhere may just be encouraged by it.