Being an introvert or even becoming a recluse

First of all, I would like to say, as much as I would try not to have a life of a recluse, I seem to be going towards that way. If not for my commitments in NUS, I think I will be stuck at home rotting away. However, have we considered whether living the life that is close to a recluse has its benefits?

Based on an article from The Straits Times, it is said that on average, people spend $2,600 unknowingly in a year. That might not seem a lot but it is. The few reasons cited are: shopping, dining and etc. So being a recluse that is stuck at home is more likely to be not tempted by these as one will be at home. While it can be argued that online shopping and the advertisements that try to entice people are present online, but I feel that the effect is less.

As a heavily indebted student and a person who does not like to go out as it seems to sap energy rapidly, these help me to control my spending very much. However, whenever I have to go to school, I will spend money on a cup of coffee in order to keep myself awake. I do search for the cheapest coffee I can find that is convenient. People might ask, why not buy those coffee packets so that it is cheaper. I would like to have that but coffee seems to induce movements of the bowels and given that my travelling time spent on the MRT is about 1.5h, it is safer to only consume the coffee once i reach my destination, which is usually NUS.

While it is true that a lot of our spendings are covered by our parents, since kids like us in Singapore are pretty sheltered and will not move out of the house like our peers in the Western who fend for themselves at the age of 18, I must admit that being outside and especially with friends, we will tend to go to more fanciful and certainly more expensive restaurants or cafe to dine. Hence, being at home does have its benefits. However, I certainly do not advocate one to stay at home at all times, it is desirable to go out to meet with your friends and enjoy some quality time with them but it will help to save some money if you try to go out less. Less will be spent on travelling and food.

Being a recluse has its benefits and we should not look down on hikkikomoris. However, such behaviour is not to be encouraged if we think in terms of the country. The government will not like to have many recluse as it will affect spending, jobs maybe even marriage and etc. So recluses who are reading this, please go out once in a while to soak some sunlight too. I am directing this to myself too.