Living a life beyond our means?

We in Sri Lanka particularly and in some other poorer countries, have been weaned on a pattern of behaviour to live beyond our means. It has become commonplace as we get tempted by imitating our neighbours, by using Credit Cards, by “living on the never, never,” or if we live pay cheque to paycheque, we have no cash for unexpected expenses. Whenever, or wherever we used cash to make purchases, it was said to be harder to live beyond our means. Now, we are told never to carry cash, as we can use our phone wallets to pay for whatever we want? We are coerced, tempted to go abroad to pay off our personal debts. We notice the queues, of people, in their thousands, all from dawn, in all weather, standing outside the Colombo Batteramulla Passport Office, all wanting to leave for a life abroad. Is this a sham that having a Sri Lanka Passport, is a “passport” to obtaining a Work Visa to go to any country to work abroad? Are People are being fooled to pay SL Rupees 35,000/- to secure a Passport, or is it a way to fill the coffers of our Exchequer, a smart way to balance our mounting debt? Hardly, do the common man or woman know that Visa Offices of Western Embassies in Colombo have almost all “farmed” their Offices on Contract to Agencies which demand a minimum of Rs.100,000/- to fill in an Visa Application, without any guarantee of Visa and/or work assignment?Living a life beyond our means? < I can hardly complain, as when I was in my twenties, I too wanted “to fly the nest”, to shores abroad, in search of “adventure”? Many eons have passed since my leaving my native Ceylon. What is the state of affairs today? During our 2023/4 Budget speech, our President, acting as our nation’s Finance Minister, had this to open his Budget Speech: “The Buddha’s teachings has resonance about borrowing, as contained in the Samachchapala Sutra”, where borrowing should be for investment, and not for consumption. But what did we do? Borrow from other countries and spend on our consumption. We got lazy day by day. People got used to handouts from the government. We were not thinking about the future of the country. A selfish society which only thinks about what the country should give its citizens was created gradually. Regrettably we were feasting on borrowed money.” Having said his mind. Today, our President has tried everything possible to go the other way to close loopholes, to make new laws to create a bureaucracy of Administrative Laws which is directly or indirectly creating a field day for the legal profession to cream, or source money from most legal property transfers. Sale of land to foreigners is now sacrosanct after years of mismanagement. According to a recent Press Report in the Business Times and is reproduced below in full. What makes me worry is that whilst closing loopholes we may create a plethora of other problems for investment in Sri Lanka for the foreseeable future. Let us not jump from frying pan into the fire? We need forethought to solve our debt, not knee jerk action? Living within one's means is all about trying to marry up one's current needs with future goals. How we decide to choose between joy now or joy later. but, at the same time no amount of planning in advance can really avoid the obstacles. In a sense, or in essence it is being realistic about our spending now, for returns of satisfaction later that really matters? Victor Cherubim