Moneywise24 Personal Finance

Nowadays, a lot of people are moving around. With increased globalization and easy of travel, it should not pose great problems to move from one city to another for work or education. I know from experience, I have done this four times already in life.

One of the greater challenges when moving to a new city is getting fully integrated. Okay, perhaps as a student it was fairly easy, but as soon as I started my career, I found it definitely more difficult to connect with my fellow co-workers; many of them have families, many simply want the best for their career, and generally the relationship I have with my co-workers is not as relaxed as during my student times.

One of the things I found extremely helpful is to join a club, or society, of some kind. And there are three basic reasons for that:

Getting to know new people

Of course, the first benefit is that you are getting to know new people. Here, I find it important that it is a true club or society, where you plan to stay for an indefinite amount of time. I have joined some groups for the purpose of, just as an example, following a language course for 6 months. But I did not find it very effective in really getting to know people.

In a club, you are getting to know people with similar interests, and you know that it is not going to ‘end’ at some point. This could be anything, from martial arts, to football or soccer, photography, sailing, aviation, or anything that interests you.

Similar interests also ensures, that you can connect much easier.

Learning and experiencing

I find clubs excellent learning experiences. Myself, I have always been interested in Japanese language and culture, and since almost a year I am practicing Japanese sword fighting (Kendo) at a club in my city.

This, for me, is a great opportunity to learn more about Japanese sword fighting and to hear and be able to speak some Japanese. Our training is once a week, and every time I am learning something new. I simply love it.

The benefit of routine

Last, members of a club will usually meet up regularly. I find this routine extremely beneficial, since you can plan the activity well ahead.

Additionally, the dynamics of the group acts as an extra motivation to show up, provided that you put energy in connecting with the other group members.

Whatever you do, you will naturally put some energy in getting to know your club members. Especially when you are joining a sporting club of some sorts, it may be tempting to go there only for the sports and the workout. But there is much more to it.

Usually, such clubs have events, they have tournaments, they have barbecue parties. All of these are extremely fun, provided that you see yourself an integral member of the club, and you are willing to give something back.

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Generally I am quite happy with my life. Surely I want to improve a few things here and there, I do sports to keep fit and healthy, and my monthly salary is keeping me off the streets. I even have some money to save up, to invest, and to enjoy a holiday twice a year. I am single, but I am not breaking my head about it; my focus is on other places right now.

Still I can’t help feeling a bit stressed. In the 90′s, when I still went to school, and later on started my education in International Business, things were somewhat more relaxed. But now… I can’t help feeling pressurized. Maybe it’s just the internet, allowing me to exchange information, and learn, from people who are not relatives or within my circle of closest friends. Perhaps it’s the marketing, which is increasingly applying more refined techniques of brain manipulation. Over the years, I have read and heard about a few topics. They seem to become more and more normal, yet I know for sure these were not issues in my life 15 years ago. Perhaps these are some phenomenons of the new millennium, or I just didn’t know about them; I don’t know. Most of the writing in this post is based on articles and broadcasts which may lie back one or two years ago… so apologies if I can’t name a source to them.

The girl next door

Starting with my favorite topic: women. Now I don’t know about the rest of the world, but it used to be normal to start hooking up at the age of about 14 or 15, and sleeping with a partner for the first time at the age of 17 on average. It must have been over a year ago when I read an article in a Dutch newspaper, where the practice of for example Rainbow Parties (I will not indulge into details, please use Google for further information), where it was commented to be common practice between 12-year olds or so, was being discussed and frowned upon in political circles.

Several psychological and society magazines, on their turn, claimed that children were starting to experiment much more early nowadays, which would be the result of pressure from peer groups and society in general. Many of these teens regret it at a later age. Additionally, social pressure of often also the cause of eating disorders or other behavior disorders.

Slavery for money

An old acquaintance of mine graduated in law at university, and obtained a job at a prominent law firm. After haven’t seen him for months, as he kept cancelling our meetups, we met for a coffee. During that conversation he confessed having to work for 16 hours a day, including Saturday and Sunday, and most of his social circle has deteriorated. Fine, he had a good pay, but he just didn’t have the time to meet up with them. But hey, he said to me, “it’s not all that bad. Other law graduates are spending their time behind the copying machine for 1,200 Dollars per month”. Two months later, he didn’t look good at all. Unfortunately I didn’t see him again after that.

I know it’s normal to have a demanding job when someone has the responsibility that goes with it, such as a manager of a division, or Managing Director. But a graduate? Apart from that, I heard it is illegal in Germany to work for more than 10 hours per day, and each and every employee needs to have at least 11 hours off work between leaving work and starting work the next day.

The man who has nothing

One of my previous neighbors had it all: a big Mercedes, nice penthouse, expensive suits, and an extremely big mouth. All he did was to talk about his riches and success. Then came the crisis and he was laid off.

“That’s not that bad”, I said to him. “You have the car, the penthouse, perhaps some savings. Live a bit frugally for a few months; someone with your knowledge and expertise should have no problem getting a new job”. It turned out he didn’t own anything.

The art of relaxing

I find it hard sometimes not get drawn in on “more, faster, better”. Actually, with increasing pressure from the media, at the workplace, from friends, you sometimes get the impression that you’re a complete failure, whereas you’re actually doing pretty good in what you do.

Therefore I find it so important to stop comparing myself with others, and lead a life that I enjoy, keeping my goals in mind, and leading a well-balanced life. What this has to do with personal finance? It’s simple: it allows me to keep a clear head and to take rational decisions that are good for me.

So, having gotten this out there in the world… it’s time to hit the gym.

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