Living Beyond our Means: Dangers of Overconsuming

By, Alida Suraya Mohd Ali

“In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy,” Ivan Illich mentioned in his book, “Tools for Conviviality.” Dear gentle readers , what is consumerism? The term “consumerism” refers to the idea that the primary factor of economic growth should be the interests of consumers. To put it another way, it is an ideology that values overconsuming in material goods and services. In general, consumerism is defined as the public’s fixation on products and services , especially unnecessary things. 

Nowadays, we are being influenced by social media. Some people be showing off their lavish lifestyle and others will envy, as they will be craving to live the same way. People will start splurging a lot of money on unnecessary purchases just to fix the fear of missing out. This habit of overconsuming will lead to bad financial management and failure to maintain a sustainable lifestyle. With bills piling, one will become desperate and might think personal loans will be good help. 

Commonly, personal loans can be applied from a variety of options including banking institutions and money lenders whether licensed or unlicensed. Unfortunately, not everyone can pay off the loans. In Malaysia, an individual that fail to do repayment of RM100,000 debts will be listed as bankrupt. Based on the data collected by Malaysia’s Department of Insolvency (MdI), 26 percent of bankrupt individuals are below the age of 34 years old, that is young. It shows that most of the cases happen due to failure to make repayment on financial services such as personal loans, credit card debts and installment plans. As of September 2024, the total cases of bankruptcy in our country are 145,921. Though the situation is set and damage is done, there are still some ways to resolve it . Discharges of bankruptcy or annulments may allow a bankrupt to terminate their bankruptcy. An annulment is the termination of a bankruptcy order for a person who has been declared bankrupt. A discharge of bankruptcy order, however, may absolve a bankrupt of all stated debts, with the exception of those owed to the state, the government, and the attorney general.

All things considered, it is very crucial for all of us, particularly younger generations to avoid the temptation to settle on luxury lifestyle that neglect budgetary constraints. Overconsuming and improper expenses driven by impulsive action can be very harmful.

Practice of sustainability can help with the issue .

Long-term financial stability and prevention of bankruptcy can be achieved by practicing sustainable development ideas. Based on SDG 12 , Responsible Consumption and Production, it emphasizes sustainable living such as saving, budgeting and making responsible financial choices. These practices will help people avoid unnecessary expenses and excessive debt. SDG 12 also encourages responsible consumptions, it advocate people to think their needs over want and make mindful choices. By embracing this mindset, it resists the urge to fix the temporary desire thus can help to prevent bankruptcy.***