Are White collar workers more WASTEFUL than Entrepreneurs?

Its always a known fact especially in the Banking, Telecoms and Oil and Gas workers to live lavish (most times far beyond their means).

The status image that comes with these jobs have seen most of these workers live very large, buy state of the art auto mobiles and globe trot when the opportunity arises.

Most times these set of people are entangled in loans to meet up with their wasteful and extremely expensive lifestyle.

These set of people's financial strength surfaces a few months (sometimes years) after they have lost their jobs.

While on the other hand, entrepreneurs are known to be frugal in nature. They most times always take loan to invest in their businesses and reap the benefit of the profit over time.

While the white collar job employees lives big at a early stage in his career, he is most times over taken by his counterpart who went into entrepreneurship.

acidtalk: Are White collar workers more WASTEFUL than Entrepreneurs?

Its always a known fact especially in the Banking, Telecoms and Oil and Gas workers to live lavish (most times far beyond their means).

The status image that comes with these jobs have seen most of these workers live very large, buy state of the art auto mobiles and globe trot when the opportunity arises.

Most times these set of people are entangled in loans to meet up with their wasteful and extremely expensive lifestyle.

These set of people's financial strength surfaces a few months (sometimes years) after they have lost their jobs.

While on the other hand, entrepreneurs are known to be frugal in nature. They most times always take loan to invest in their businesses and reap the benefit of the profit over time.

While the white collar job employees lives big at a early stage in his career, he is most times over taken by his counterpart who went into entrepreneurship.

There are many entrepreneurs, particularly in Nigeria, who also live large and waste their earnings, as well as shareholders funds, loans, and don't pay staff salaries on time, or not at all.

At least a white collar employee can waste only his salary. The choice to live frugal or live large is dependent on the individual. So long as you don't steal other people's money, it's entirely your affair.

In my opinion, the culture of waste is actually a consequence of imbibing Western culture. Asians and Africans are traditionally frugal. Saving is entrenched firmly in Chinese culture, in fact. People who live in the West are used to a life of abundance, base their day to day living on access to credit, and generally live in debt for most of their adult life.

That's why a diaspora returnee to Nigeria would move straight to Lekki or Ikoyi, and think nothing of paying N5m a year rent. That's something a home-grown Nigerian would typically balk at; we don't spend money in that way, because we are used to it not being available. We'd rather use the N5m to build a bungalow in Mowe or something. However, due to our aspirational bent, people of our generation would do it just to 'feel among'.

you made a vital point.
Dont forget employees most times get involved in office crimes if rhe opportunity surfaces all so that they they add to their salaries and live large.

like you said, this generation has lot all forms of financial education and have totally bizzare in wastage.

acidtalk: you made a vital point.
Dont forget employees most times get involved in office crimes if rhe opportunity surfaces all so that they they add to their salaries and live large.

like you said, this generation has lot all forms of financial education and have totally bizzare in wastage.

Hmm.

This old thread you might find interesting.

@ OP: You made some striking points. However, frugality or carefully planning to live within your means is not a function θf being an Entrepreneur, its a personal choice. A wasteful person will always be wasteful, whether he is an entrepreneur or earns a salary. So, wastefulness or frugality is not determined by your occupation but by your values and principles as an individual.

spicy v: @ OP: You made some striking points. However, frugality or carefully planning to live within your means is not a function θf being an Entrepreneur, its a personal choice. A wasteful person will always be wasteful, whether he is an entrepreneur or earns a salary. So, wastefulness or frugality is not determined by your occupation but by your values and principles as an individual.

well we want to play the comparism game right now.
we sure know its an individual thing but comparing amongst both different "zones" is.......

Oh but your post didn't suggest your awareness θf wastefulness being an individual thing, it actually suggests salary earners as wasteful people and Entrepreneurs as frugal because θf what they do! Hence my post. Good thing you clarified.

Well....
On the average, I believe salary earners are still likely to be more wasteful than entrepreneurs. Reason being salary earners eagerly look forward to the end of the month to get salary and as such will take debt and spend lavishly unlike the business owner who is uncertain about when the next big deal/profit will happen.

No doubt, you are right about that. Classic example is the number θf creditors who eagerly await the end θf the month because to visit their debtors in their offices. Lol.

Pardon the use θf grammar, you get my point though! Lol.

People spend their money on anything they want as long as they've earned it legally. You and i do not and should not necessarily have the same definition of what could be regarded as wasteful.

Some people work hard, save and invest money in the first place, based on the assumption that they are not likely to die the following week. Others simply want to live in the moment and not have to wait till they are 70 before they start to enjoy the goodies of life or buy their favorite sneakers. To each his own!

I work hard, invest as much as I can and go on holidays with whatever I've got left. It's the way I chose to live my life. I want to go into my 70s with the nostalgic feeling of the times i've spent hiking in Bali or scuba diving the great barrier reef. What's the point tying my millions down only so my kids could spend them on those holidays?

Entrepreneurs who make lots of money also indulge themselves with these nice treats. Otedola has a 20 million pounds Yacht. Anyone whose total family income is not up to a hundredth of that will probably think of that as a Waste, but Otedola has got only one life to live, if he dies tommorrow without spending a dime of it, all he's worked for will probably go to someone else who may or may not spend it lavishly.

Money is meant to be spent mate!


The argument that people who spend a lavishly on nice treaties may lose their jobs and be left broke is quiet a strong point. But the reality of life is that, everyone, entrepreneurs or employees, all face a certain uncertain future. I know of people who worked hard all their lives and invested in businesses that eventually suffered liquidity problems and went broke. I know of businesses that closed down due to increasing operating costs even though the owners have spent an entire life savings on it. I know of people who invested their life savings in equities that went down the drain a couple of years ago. The future is completely unknown, it's the risk we all take by choosing to live.

A lot θf sense in your argument. Nothing is certain, not life itself! A looot θf sense!!!

@Viloent, you are on track and I understnd your point 101%.
But we are looking at I situation were people go the extra mile to borrow and collect loan just to satisfy theirs lavish lifestyle.
Workers taking loans just to buy the lastest toyota car or 3 boxes filled with TM and Hutes and Cutis shirts or a business owner spending all his profit organizing a lavish 30th year remembrance for his great grand mother all for the sake of him paingting the "I don arrive" image.

Still want to know.

Brand_new: It all depends on the personality involved. It doesn't really matter if it's a white collar employee or an entrepreneur.

I concur. You know what they say when they say POWER INTOXICATES. Blue or white-collared, the personality (especially humility) calls you back when you're straying into the land of wastefulness.

But don't you think Blue Collar jobs are usually more careful in their spending unlike a white collar job who is guaranteed off a salary at the end of the month.

What makes you forget that there are blue collared workers who get big contracts in a day that are equivalent to the salary of a white-collared worker in a month?

Also, the former can be having jobs that are not even up to 1/4 of the latter's monthly pay.


It all depends on how we manage our cash flows. If it's certain to come at a specific period consistently, we plan better but nevertheless, when we get money initially, we are 'on top of the world' till we've almost spent e'thing, then we remember where we were coming from

So, we still end up with the personality of the individual!

I would say ideally, entrepreneurs are trained by the School of Hard Knocks to conserve cash for better cashflow and stretch/re-invest every single naira for future profits, but really as was said, it all boils down to personality, taking me for example, I love pretty things, gourmet food, designer perfumes, designer clothes, spontaneous vacations and its really really really hard controlling spending on this, I've to make conscious effort to avoid being wasteful. So its the individual and his/her level of self control/ tastes that determines this.

You are correct.
Even though we all agree its a personal thing, the fear of the unknown still keeps the entrepreneur at check.