Nak tambah hutang, kak?

The spot is a favourite for commercial bodies to promote their products. Yesterday, it was the ABC bank. Armed with umbrellas and other goodies as well as the usual leaftlets, promoters aggressively approached passerbys. I was not spared: “Kak, ni kami ada buat promotion kredit kad dan personal loan. Ambiklah kak; raya dah dekat dah ni.” I mechanically (and politely) dismissed him. A few seconds later (slow as always), I felt annoyed when recalling his words: “Raya dah dekat ni.” Do we spend so much when celebrating festivities? Or generally, has the I-want-everything-and-I-want-them-now culture infected us so much that we borrow money we don’t have in order to spend? Some loans are of course necessary and justifiable, like housing loans or education loans, but loans (or credit) to buy television, furniture, or worse – groceries? How do we manage our finances?

Memetik isi kandungan majalah Anis bulan Jun 2006, perbelanjaan kita terbahagi kepada 3 kategori (level) seperti berikut:

• Keperluan utama (daruriyyah) contohnya rumah, makan minum, pakaian, dan pendidikan anak-anak.
  
• Kemudahan (tahsiniyyah) contohnya kenderaan dan telefon bimbit.
  
• Keselesaan (kamaliyyah) contohnya perabot, rumah yang besar, dan kenderaan yang mewah.

Selain kebijaksanaan mengenal pasti keperluan (prioritise), keupayaan mengawal nafsu berbelanja juga memerlukan tolakan sifat-sifat mahmudah terutama syukur, qana’ah, redha dan sabar.

Syukur – mensyukuri nikmat dari Allah dan meyakini nikmat rezeki dan amanah daripada Allah maka dimanfaatkan sebaiknya.
Qanaah – puas dengan pemberian Allah.
Redha dan sabar – nampak Allah bila diuji dengan musibah atau kesusahan, lalu berlapang dada.

Ya Allah, aku berlindung denganMu dari ilmu yang tidak bermanfaat, dan hati yang tidak khusyuk, dan doa yang tidak makbul, dan nafsu yang tidak puas-puas.

Later yesterday I saw an advert in a newspaper:
Imagine all the things you could do if you had a little more cash. Now, xxxx Credit offers you personal financing with minimum hassle and friendly customer service. So, you can enjoy an instant solution and instant cash. Ask xxxx how we can make your life better today!

The advertiser meant the last sentence to be interpreted this way: Ask xxxx today how we can make your life better!

But perhaps it should be interpreted this way instead: Ask xxxx how we can make your life better today! (today only better ah, tomorrow and the next 10 years it’ll be worse!)