Do you also sometimes have a random conversation with your parents that talks about something essential to all of us, which is money?
I am not that close with my parents, especially with my father, to the point that I would have a random heart-to-heart talk with him about important things in life, but he surely does tells me random stuff about money.
Others probably think that we don't have financial problems because of the way I project myself, such as with my savings and financial goals, plans, and huge dreams in life that I keep talking about, but just like any other family, money will always be a part of our daily problems.
It's not to insult them but I hate the way my parents think about money and the way they handle their money. If only I could teach them the right way to manage their money properly, then our financial situation would be a little lighter. However, they are old already and it's hard to break a wrong money mindset that is already established.
To be honest, I learned to be wise when it comes to saving and spending money because of them. Surely, they were the ones who taught me to save every extra coin I have from my daily allowance since I was young, at the age of 6. In fact, my father used to create a bamboo alkansya or bamboo bank for me and my brother so that we would insert there our extra allowance, and we will open it at the end of the school year. And the money we were able to save will be used to buy ourselves toys and clothes during our town festival around April of the year.
As time passes by, I aimed to be financially literate to lift my family from financial dilemmas and to have a more comfortable life. And I will continue seeking more knowledge so I could achieve my goal of financial freedom.
However, every time I make plans and goals to become financially free, my father would remind me of these things.
1. Money is supposed to be spent.
Actually, I agree with this because that is its ultimate purpose. We need to spend money so that we can survive our day-to-day life and we get to buy the things we need and want. But as a thrifty person, I would think not just twice but a lot of times whenever I expend my hard-earned money. I would ask myself if the thing I will buy is worth it or not.
But what I hate about this thinking is that he would always back it up with his statement that,
"You wouldn't be able to taste the fruit of your hard-earned money if you are already dead or if the end of the world comes."
His statement is too morbid but it's all facts anyway. Our money will be useless once our time comes and regret will embrace us because we didn't spend our money when we were still alive and kicking. But what I hate about this is that my father would use it as an excuse to spend all of his money without thinking about the future. What if you are going to live for the next 10 years and you didn't have any savings, what are you going to spend for your daily needs then?
I don't hate spending but it is unnecessary spending that is what I hate the most. Spending all the time without saving for the future, that is.
Yes, money is supposed to be spent but we should spend it wisely. Prioritize buying our needs first before our wants. Practice delayed gratification instead of instant gratification.
2. "We don't own money. Money is only passed on from one person to another."
Well, this is also a true statement. We don't own money. Remember, when we were born, we came out into this world with nothing in our hands. It is only passed on to us because we had to do work or a job to have it, while others also inherited their riches.
Money is the same as our life, it is only temporary. We are only in this world for a short period and everything we own, the money we have in our bank account, and the material possessions we enjoy are not really ours. We are only the caretakers of those things during our stay on this planet. Today, the money we have might be in our hands, but tomorrow, it won't be anymore. While we are alive, we earn it, hold it, and spend it. And once we are gone, it will be passed on again to another person.
3. "If you don't work, you don't eat."
This has been one of my father's statements whenever he is doing something to earn money, and it is true again. Actually, he would blabber these words when he notices that we are being lazy. It is like an indirect statement to make us move and do something. And if we don't do any household chores before, we would feel ashamed to eat.
Growing up, sometimes we would be short of money. And my father would then think of ways to have cash to meet our daily needs, especially for food. Witnessing his acts, it was implanted in my mind that if you don't work and just stay in the house all day, you won't be able to make money. Thus having no money means no food to prepare on the table for the family to eat.
And when I got older, I adapted this kind of thinking, that I am not allowed to eat in the morning if I didn't do even just a simple chore or treat myself with fancy food if I didn't do a job well done. And it is also a reminder to me that I won't achieve the kind of life I want to have if I won't do the work and continue to hustle.
These are some of the statements my father would randomly say about money and I would admit that they are all true.
How about you? What's the statement your father tells you about money? Share them on and let's learn from him.
"Money is power, freedom, a cushion, the root of all evil, the sum of blessings." Carl Sandburg
Since I grow up fatherless, its my mother who told me to save but she is not a good spender. Always short of money for daily needs in the family maybe because of meager income but as I assess she is not a good budget officer and I felt I inherited it. I am not a good when it comes to money. There is always a reason that it will be spent, goes out from the coffer, find its ways to escape from my grip.