2024 is a scary year

This feels like the first real year of inflation.

So many difficult things unfolded at the end of 2024.
Unforeseen events.
Losses.
Declines.
Heartbreaks.

Yet, quietly, something shifted.

Many of us began to realize that this is a year to save.
To slow down spending.
To stop showing off lavish lifestyles on social media.

And still—everyone is busy making money everywhere they can.

The cost of living keeps rising.
Healthy food—fruits, vegetables, organic produce—has become expensive.
At the same time, corporations and capitalist systems continue to push cheap, processed food wrapped in plastic—
food that damages our health and dulls our productivity.

Slowly, we’ve begun to distinguish between desire and necessity.

But did we realize why this awakening feels so heavy?

Because living in this world now requires a lot of money.
Living as a human inside a human-made system comes with endless requirements—
and nearly all of them demand payment.

Water requires bills.
Light requires electricity fees.
Shelter requires constant maintenance.

At the peak of the 21st century,
we are humans who must consume continuously just to survive.

We own too many shoes.
Use too many lights.
Consume too much electricity.
Drink endless varieties of water.
Rely heavily on sugar.
Absorb overwhelming amounts of information.
And constantly compete with strangers online—
measuring our worth through visible achievement.

The 2000s feel like yesterday.
We were excited about phones.
Amazed by the internet.
Grateful for connection.

Then came social media.
The world sped up.

We consumed more.
We knew more.
And slowly, we all began chasing the same goals—
goals shaped by algorithms, not inner needs.

Entrepreneurship once looked like the ultimate dream.
A symbol of freedom and success.

Until reality arrived.

The hardship.
The unstable economy.
The financial pressure.

We realized that this “dream” is not meant for everyone.

We once glorified hustle culture—
until our bodies broke down,
our mental health collapsed,
and neglected basics returned as illness.

Sometimes I wonder—
am I alone in feeling that financial stress became the central problem of 2024?

Maybe it isn’t obvious yet.
But the signs are there.

This is the time to be wiser with spending.
More conscious about consumption.
More honest about what we actually need.

Because the world ahead does not look peaceful yet.

And survival—
will belong to those who learn to live with less,
not those who chase more.