This title could drive people crazy, because all the time we've been taught the exact opposite, and you might start thinking: "Oh, another pessimist"
Truth is; it's very difficult to find someone who is as optimistic as I am. So, let me explain:
Have you ever asked yourself: "Why do people take loans?" That's a very broad question I'm sure that can have a million answers, but mine is: because they bet on their future being better than their present. Which as you are already aware; is not always the case!
This is not a call to become pessimistic about the future, because what an awful life you'll have if you live thinking that tomorrow is worse than yesterday and today, I mean why would you even keep going if you had this belief?
It's rather a call to become more cautious about your future, to prepare for a rainy day that can take place anytime without any warnings. Like you losing your job and thus your source of income. Or a family member needing a surgery or treatment god forbid, and there are many other examples that I'm sure you're smart enough to come up with.
When I had my first fixed job, my income immediately increased by about 500%, that was mind-blowing to me. I quickly started making bigger purchases and even buying things on credit because I had solid certainty about the future being better.
Then when I had my second job my income increased again by about 25%, which again was super cool, and my purchases kept getting bigger, my lifestyle started consuming most of my income, but so far everything was stable.
Then when I started working with a client directly without a middle-man, my income jumped about 600% again! Now, that was when my ego came to its highest possible point. I was making more money than 99% of people my age. At this point, I never had to think before I buy anything, because I was certain that more money will continue to flow into my pockets.
This kept going for a while till I received a message from my employer telling me that the project we're working on is going to be put on an indefinite hold, and that my upcoming salary is going to be the last. I had two options then, either to pay off my debts completely and have nothing but also owe nothing, or to stick to my delusional beliefs about the future being permanently better.
It's easy to guess which path I chose; I couldn't control my ego, which led me to losing everything I had, selling everything I owned, and still being deeply in debt, which didn't end well at all.
This experience has taught me a lot of things, like for example, that financial security is much better than living this fancy life. Also, that if you don't prepare for a rainy day then you'll get soaked!
There's a fine line between optimisim and delusion, being optimistic doesn't mean you should bet heavily on the future being better, because what if it wasn't? We can sum it up in one sentence that way: Work for a better future, prepare for a challenging one.