13/01/2026
ASSETS VS LIABILITIES
Not everything you own is helping you.
Some things look good, feel exciting, and even earn applause, but quietly pull you backward.
An asset supports your future.
A liability quietly drains it.
This isn’t about shame or guilt. It’s about awareness.
I remember when a course mate bought a very fine handbag. Everyone noticed it.
Compliments were flying.
I wanted that feeling too. I wanted to “show up” and be seen.
So I made a choice I shouldn’t have made.
I ignored my immediate school needs, things I actually needed for classes, and used the money to buy a similar bag. I told myself it was worth it. I imagined carrying it around campus, turning heads, feeling confident.
Reality was different.
School was busy. Life was busy.
I never really had the time, or even the right moments to carry that bag and “show off” the way I had imagined. Most days, it stayed in the hostel. Quiet. Unused.
But the cost didn’t stay quiet.
I felt the pressure elsewhere;
1. Struggling to cover small but important school expenses
2. Feeling stressed when money was tight
3. Realizing I had traded peace for appearance
That bag cost me more than money. It cost me comfort and ease at a time I needed them most.
That’s when the lesson hit me
Some things cost you once.
Others keep costing you every month, every thought, every worry.
I have since seen people sell things they truly loved not because they stopped liking them, but because the ongoing cost was stealing their peace.
Before every purchase, pause and ask,
Will this support me?
Will it pressure me?
Awareness changes everything.
And sometimes, the most powerful upgrade isn’t what you buy it’s what you choose not to.
Magdalene Joh
