It is a current issue: our money. Energy crisis, inflation, dark years of the pandemic create significant financial difficulties but also the desire and need to enjoy life precisely to compensate for these bitter experiences. Tourism is picking up, venues are filling up again, but a lot of people are very careful with their spending. What’s more, the Christmas season is approaching, a time of religious reflection, but also a time of celebration and gift-giving. What should we do? Should we spend our money because “tomorrow may never come” as Lorenzo the Magnificient said in 1490 or, for the very same reason, to save? 
In the ancient Greek fable “The Grasshopper and the Ant,” the ant works all summer to put aside supplies without indulging in anything. The grasshopper, on the other hand, lives the good life not worrying about the coming winter. Even among people the two behaviours exist, and the impulse to save or to think only of the present and overspend is not always related to the size of the salary. Shopping mania or being stingy like Scrooge McDuck can depend not only on a financial aspect but also on needs or our own fears. If you don’t go to the cause of the problem, solutions are often temporary and therefore ineffective. In the meantime, you can figure out who, between the grasshopper and the ant, you resemble most!
TEST
1) Do you know how much 1 kilo of bread costs in your regular store?
a) just about
b) no
c) yes, to the cent
2) You buy new clothes because
a) they cost little
b) they will last
c) you like them very much
3) At the end of the month, you
a) know exactly how much you have spent
b) know more or less how much you have spent
c) have no idea
4) The holiday souvenir
a) a useful object for home
b) an item of clothing
c) lots of little objects which will later be forgotten in a drawer
5) You have a 15-year-old teen, you give him
a) a small allowance on a regular basis
b) money when he asks
c) some money once in a while
6) This teen asks you for more money, you reply
a) you should have enough of what I gave you
b) I’ll deduct the amount from your next allowance
c) how much do you want?
7) All your friends have an item that is the fashion of the moment, but you can’t afford it, you think
a) I don’t like it
b) good for them
c) I ask for a loan and buy it
8) Time for sales, you
a) already asked for a day off
b) only buy useful things
c) don’t even think about it
9) As a child, when you wanted something from your parents, you
a) talked about it with them
b) acted up
c) were satisfied with what they gave you
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10) An object seems like it’s going to break, you
a) immediately fix it
b) throw it away
c) set it aside with the intent of fixing it
11) Three brothers pass their clothes from the eldest to the youngest, you think
a) the oldest one is lucky, he always has new clothes
b) poor little one, he always has used stuff
c) this is how they will learn to save
12) You are planning a trip, for expenses you
a) calculate every budget items
b) plan the general expenses
c) bring the credit card and see what happens
13) An infomercial presents what seems to be a good deal, you think
a) there’s certainly a mistake
b) I’m buying it right away
c) I’ll get more information about this
14) Your favourite saying is
a) You only live once
b) A penny saved is a penny earned
c) Is it better to have an egg today or a hen tomorrow?
15) Money doesn’t buy happiness…
a) imagine without!
b) but it helps finding it!
c) it’s really true!
SCORE
Question A B C
1) 2 3 1
2) 2 1 3
3) 1 2 3
4) 2 1 3
5) 2 3 1
6) 1 2 3
7) 2 1 3
8) 3 2 1
9) 2 3 1
10) 1 3 2
11) 3 2 1
12) 1 2 3
13) 1 3 2
14) 3 1 2
15) 3 2 1
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EXPLANATIONS
FROM 45 TO 35 POINTS:
BURNING A HOLE IN YOUR POCKET?
Shopping is like a drug, and rarely does a day go by where you don’t buy anything. It is not an impulse that affects only women; men can be addicted as well: “It was a bargain, I needed it,” except, when you get home, you realize that you already have a similar item and didn’t even remember it. Sometimes behind this urge to buy lies personal dissatisfaction and a desire for attention-seeking. You can think about it … that doesn’t cost anything!
FROM 36 TO 25 POINTS:
POCKETS LIKE ACCORDIONS
You like to walk around stores, thinking about how that item would look in your home or on you, what others would say when they saw it. Sometimes you like to be tempted and wallow right to the moment when you need to make a decision but then, if you decide to buy, you are judicious in your choices and rarely make mistakes. Usually you think a lot, but when you indulge yourself, you don’t regret it and, in fact, you feel some pride in yourself.
FROM 24 TO 15 POINTS:
STITCHED POCKETS
You know the prices of various products by heart, and even if you need a few things, there is like an unconditional reflex that keeps you from opening your pocketbook. Fear of exceeding your budget, too much control over yourself, or other reasons? You have only what you actually need in your home, but every once in a while, lightening your wallet can help lighten your soul as well. We said, “once in a while”!
Italiano
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