In a story of exceptionally poor money management, 26-year-old Catherine Belinger just took a trip to the emergency room because she was experiencing a dire medical emergency, even though she absolutely could not afford it.
“My job doesn’t offer health insurance and doesn’t pay me enough to pay for it on my own,” Catherine explained. “It’s not like I wanted to go to the ER — I was going into anaphylactic shock and I really had no other option.”
Okay, impulse buy!
“I thought I taught her how to manage her money well,” Catherine’s mom, Rose, told reporters. “She’s not usually a big spender, so I’m not sure where this behavior is coming from. I just hope she doesn’t make a habit of it.”
Catherine informed reporters that, no, to the best of her ability, she wouldn’t be making rushing to the hospital on the verge of death a “habit.”
Sources close to Catherine said they knew what was behind her newfound financial recklessness.
“She recently started making $8.00 an hour instead of $7.50 and I can tell it’s already going to her head,” Catherine’s coworker, Leila, told reporters. “What’s next? Buying enough groceries to fulfill her basic nutrient requirements? It’s just not realistic!”
Ugh! Lifestyle creep can be so dangerous!
Financial experts weighed in on Catherine’s situation, saying that while taking financial risks is sometimes unavoidable when trying to maximize your capital, in general, being financially responsible means not taking on expenses that are out of your budget.
“Having a medical emergency and taking an ambulance to the hospital when you don’t have insurance is definitely not a smart financial move,” one expert explained. “Aside from not dying, there’s no really no material benefit and definitely no opportunity to grow your funds, so it just doesn’t make any sense, financially.”
Catherine said she’d never thought about it like that, but would try to be wiser about her spending in the future.
As of press time, Catherine had finally gotten her reckless spending under control, cutting out big expenses like emergency room visits, doctors’ appointments, groceries, and her electricity bill.
“It feels good to finally be acting like a responsible adult,” said Catherine while trying to speed-eat the entire contents of her refrigerator – including condiments – before they go bad.
We love personal growth!
