I come from a humble family – no fancy titles to our names, no connection to any influential people, no blue blood, just your average normal family - where Abah was the sole income earner for the extended family. Growing up, money was not and never something to be taken for granted and we were and always are reminded of the importance of money. Don’t get me wrong; awareness of the value of money does not make us worship money. We are no slaves to the so-called root of all evil but we understand the value of money because like it or not, in this increasingly capitalist world, money is sought-after and almost always synonymous with power, prestige and position. And besides, when you have parents who grew up during WWII, you just know money is not something to be taken for granted and resources are not meant to be wasted. Ever.
Money is a factor used to weigh between a purchase or a non-purchase, an investment or saving. But when it comes to education or paying zakat, it is not and never an issue. Times were tough especially when there was only one solo breadwinner with a family to support and all the children were in school.
OK, I did understand the value of money but I also longed for material stuff. And when I should have been careful with money, I was a spendthrift especially during my pre-varsity days. And OK, so my parents did indulge me from time to time. Now that I’m earning my own income, I understand better how tough it is to earn your own dough. That’s why I don’t understand why some people look down on other people who work thankless jobs like the labourers and those who work as garbage collectors. And that’s also why I cannot stand it when I see people sitting by idle and begging for money when they could work. Or choosing the easier and less strenuous work while leaving the hard strenuous work for the foreign workers.
Anyway, here’s how it has always been for me: I never, ever, sold whatever foreign currencies I have left back to the moneychanger or anyone else. I don’t normally have much left anyway and besides why sell at a miserable loss? I’d rather hold on to them, telling myself there may be an off chance that I’ll visit that place again in the future. Especially if the currencies involved are Euros, pound sterling or the greenback. It’s better to have some in hand especially if you suddenly want to ask someone to buy something that is priced lower abroad. And it’s nice to know that the currencies you have appreciate in value. And if they devalue, well, there will come a time when they will appreciate again surely.
Times change [OK, that line reminds me of one of those Celcom ads]. As do circumstances.
I’m so skint, I’m now considering selling some of my foreign currencies to my colleagues...
I’m so skint that I have to watch even more carefully what I spend on.
How did I get into this mess, you may ask.
Good question.
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My credit card bill for this month will no doubt be Larger Than Life. I’m sure I’m not a good customer to my credit card company as I pay my bill on time ‘cause I don’'t think it’s sensible to pay interest [that’s all credit card providers are interested in, profiting from the interests owed to them]. And yet, they have increased my credit card limit without me realising and requesting for it. There was a time in the not so distant past when I was similarly broke and had to resort to borrowing and also asking my credit card company for a temporary increase in my credit limit as I was at risk of busting it already. They have since increased my credit limit twice without me even asking for it.
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I’m having a headache now and it’s probably something I brought upon myself. Woke up at midnight to watch the young Gunners play Chelshit and as we know, the young Gunners didn’t manage to trample Stamford Bridge down. Hmph!
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