Nonhlanhla Kunene | 1 February 2016

January has come and finally gone. You’ve survived it, albeit barely, but you’ve survived nonetheless.

As the new month sets in, so does reality and regret over the fruitless and wasteful indulging you wilfully took part in, despite your better judgment, over the festive season.

When you’re caught between the relentless allures of a materialistic society and exercising enough discipline to do the right thing, throwing caution out the window to indulge life’s temporary pleasures can be tempting.

As long as there’s money to spend, managing one’s finances will always be a fine balancing act and when it comes to money management, most of us have been guilty, at one point or another, of total and utter inanity.

Of course there’s no crime in indulging in yourself every now and again, you worked hard throughout the year and deserved a little pampering. But where do we draw the line between a little pampering and absolute financial mismanagement?

Below, a survey of 2000 American citizens reveals a few of those bad financial decisions, most likely to come back and haunt you. Take note and be sure not to repeat them.