There is a time, in fact only 30 or 40 years ago, when children were not spoken of as spenders but as savers. However, today children are viewed as a viable market. The youngsters of today wonder how their money vanishes so quickly. It may due to high cost of living or their tendency to spend lavishly to enjoy life immediately. There has been an increase in the ?spend now and worry later? attitude.

For many of us, especially those belonging to the younger generation, it is a mystery how the money we have at our disposal at the beginning of the month, dwindles and vanishes within no time. It is as if our hands are sieves and the money escapes through our fingers. Then, we have to suffer the ignominy of borrowing to tide us over the scanty days or, if we are particular about our self-esteem, we simply tighten our belts and do without what we need till our next pay packet is ready. Spending lavishly seems to come naturally to today?s youngsters. Buying consumer durables, eating out and partying, going out on expensive holidays? it is all part of these make-up.

Ask any older person to comment on the financial habits of the present generation and you will find him shaking his head dolefully, saying that the youngsters are spendthrifts. They neither know how to handle money well nor how to save for a rainy day. The fact is that attitudes towards money have changed drastically, of date. Earlier, money was hard to come by and was earned with the sweat of the brow. It was then treated with respect and care. Nowadays, most youngsters earn much more than their fathers who are double their age ever did. With the advent of multinational companies, pay packets have swelled enormously.

Years ago, no one would think of buying a house or a car unless there was enough dough in their savings account to cater for basic needs like household expenses, children education, marriage and old age needs. But now, the young person owns a car even before he is 30, thanks to the tempting easy-to-pay-back loan schemes pushed by so many companies. Also, most families have twin pay packets and this make spending easier. The young people argue that they do not want to be old and doddering to enjoy life goodies. They want to do it. They have a point, of course. But they have a price to pay, incurring debts and mortgages to clear.

Apart form all these, there is such a blitzkrieg of high-powered advertising these days that people are tempted to buy things that they do not really need right then or at least can do without it. It requires a mature and stable personality to resist the lure of consumerism in today?s scenario. Sadly, most people succumb to the lure and find that they are poorer for it if they are not cautious.

Of course, living is expensive these days. All goods come with fancy price tags and every little service you pay for, from the fixing of a faucet in the bathroom to the mending of a gas tube, means paying through the nose. It is understandable then as to why so many of us find ourselves with empty pockets well before end of the month.

<B>Zafirah FOONDON</B>