Friday, October 15, 2010

Money Matters

When I was a little girl, I have this pink and stout piggy bank. It has a rubber covering a small hole at the bottom. I wasn’t allowed to remove it until a few weeks before Christmas. It was tradition. My brother and I would open our piggy banks at the same time, count the change we’ve been saving all year and figure out what we want to buy with it. Whatever we wish for, we were lame wishers as kids wanting the cheapest toys, we received on Christmas Eve. It took me until I was 10 to realize that my parents bought it for us because they deposited whatever I saved for the year, including birthday and Christmas monetary gifts and the P1,000 for every subject I got 90+ fund, into a bank account under my name- with an ITF clause, of course.

My parents’ efforts of being such great examples in living a frugal life definitely rubbed on me. In highschool, I never, like NEVER, asked for money to spend on movies and weekend mall trips. I save from my allowance and was contented with whatever I had. My mom initiated the shopping for clothes, shoes, etc. When it came to books, though, I get to buy whatever, whenever.

My parents have always been thrifty and at the same time very reasonable. Yes, they make us earn the things that we want, leaving us waiting for graduations, birthdays, Christmases just for another piece of unnecessary gadget. But when it comes to the things we need, my parents generously hand us the best of everything.

Now that I’m earning my own money, I live with the words my dad told me on a car ride to a job interview with the firm where I am currently employed. I can’t recall the exact words, but this is what I remember him saying:

“When you start earning money, keep in mind that the equation should always be Income-Savings= Expenses. Never mix them up. It’s not about the amount, it’s about the discipline. You save up, not just for the far-off future or the rainy days. You save up for opportunities, for experiences, for investments that will give you more fulfillment than fancy things. Splurge once in a while but remember that youth is not a license to blow up resources. Strike a balance. There’s always a balance.”

I’ve been working for a year and three months. I was able to save a substantial portion of my salary. My 13th month pay went to buying Christmas gifts, my 14th month pay I spent in Hongkong. Today I received my Discretionary bonus and all of it will end up in my bank account. I shop, I travel, I eat at fancy restaurants. At the same time, I save for the future, I save for experiences and I even got myself a Life Insurance (my future kids are damn lucky).

Dad is right. There is always a balance.

Comments:
Liana dear, agree ako! Masaya ako kapag nagpapadeposit ako ng pera sa bank! haha :) I think that's the sweetest thing when you're working already, I mean, you get to buy whatever you want, do what you want to do pero may napupunta pa rin sa bank. You just don't get to save, you learn pa from that. Just continue what you've started dear :)
 
Yes! Iba yung feeling when you know you are financially independent already. Althouhg, I'm still getting there pa lang. hehe
 
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