SSCI 122 – ETHICS

THINK SHEET 1
Solving Problems

1. Write who, what, why and how the problem occurred.

My uncle had a huge financial problem. He was used to living a very luxurious lifestyle.
Although his salary was not extremely high, he bought an expensive apartment and car. He was
a middle-class worker. He had to take a big bank loan to pay for his car, but he was not worried
about a budget because he assumed, he would make much later when promoted to a higher
position and easily pay back loans. Still, when he was promoted, he found out that his increased
salary was not enough to pay off for his debts as well. Because his kids had started going to
college. He also had to pay for their tuition and other extra expenses. As he was getting older,
he had to do many medical check-ups and pay for his medicines too. He was running out of his
savings. All his bank savings were finishing very soon. And still, he could not repay the bank
loan. He had a lot of his bank loan to be paid off. He did not know where his money was going.
In addition, he also had to pay a huge amount of taxes for his assets. And, in addition with a
considerable sum of money for the maintenance of his vehicle.

2. What was the result?

He could not pay his debts in the bank and he decided to sell his car. He was so shocked that
the price he got for selling his car was far less than he expected. He had bought his car just 5
years ago. But the resale value he got was half of his original purchase price. He owned a few
acres of land in his village. Later, he also chose to sell that land to another party. The money he
received coupled with the money he received from the sale of that car allowed him to pay off
all his debts.
Later, he decided to change his address and he decided to move to a much smaller home. He
gave his own apartment on rent and began to collect monthly rents. As his children grew up,
they moved to college. So, he and his wife lived in their new much smaller home. He was now
working part time in another office next to his regular job to pay for his living expenses and his
son’s education. Still, it has been hard for him to match both the ends every month.
 3. Write two better ways to solve the problem.

a. He could have reduced his living expenses and buying a cheaper car instead. Because auto
technology is rapidly changing and newer car models arrive every day. And so, the older model
cars get cheaper each day. Instead of buying a new car he might buy a refurbished car.

b. He should have thought about the coming life and the future of his children and spend wisely.
Instead of spending huge sums to buy luxury items, he might have saved part of his money in a
fixed deposit for his children. He could have made up a monthly budget and tried to save his
money on a regular basis. This would have also supported him in paying off his debts easily and
would be a big support for him while spending for his medical expenses.

4. How could you have prevented the problem?

If I had to buy some products, such as cell phones or computers, I would buy mid-range prices.
Because, just like car technology, computer technology is also changing rapidly and as the time
goes, these products get cheaper day by day. If I had to buy a high-end car or a cell phone or
computer device, I would rather buy a used device. I would also never buy luxury items on bank
loans.

5. In the future, I will

• TAKE NOTE ALL OF MY EXPENSES

• PRIORITIZE NEEDS OVER WANTS
• SAVE MONEY FOR MEETING FUTURE NEEDS
• BUDGET MY EXPENSES BASED ON MY INCOME
• LOOK FOR THE CHEAPER SECOND-HAND OPTIONS
• NEVER TAKE OUT HUGE BANK LOANS FOR UNNECASSRY EXPENSES