*****
eons ago, our family had a chance to visit my parents' hometown. it was also the time first time we've met our youngest cousins - Al and Bal (just nicknames). it was obvious that these two kids were intelligent, even at a young age and everyone were very fond of them. one afternoon, when the ice cream man passed by the old house, all of us were able to enjoy our grandfather's treat of ice cream on bread, including the two little kids. however, they didn't have money to buy more snacks for themselves at the nearby sari-sari store so my mother gave them a five-peso bill (remember that? it's the green bill with the raising of the Philippine flag at cavite as its design). my mom told them to share it equally and so they did! with their bright minds, they shared their wealth half and half but wasn't able to buy anything at the store because guess what?!
they cut the bill in two! hating kapatid nga naman! fifty-fifty!
but i guess the story is funnier when told in filipino.
*****
when i was very little, i remember that my mom would always, always avoid bringing me with her when she does her shopping. it was because i always go home pouting if i don't get what i want. i was maldita and perhaps, high-handed. as i grew up, money was not an issue but it was strictly, or should i say prudently, given to us. before getting anything we want, a discussion occurs. why do you need the money when we were given daily allowances and when in high school, we were given a fixed amount for the whole week to budget it however we want. but of course, as i was a crazy kid, i wanted expensive things. things that were worth more than my weekly allowance.
it was a hard road to walk on when i wanted something. luckily, with my persistence, my parents didn't have a choice but to listen to me and most of the time, i'd get what i want. okay, not exactly. most of the time, my parents will agree to buy stuff for me as long as i save for half of it. take for example my in-line skates and walkman. way back in high school, in-line skates were very expensive and i labored into saving for half of it. it took me more than a month to convince my parents that it was safe to be in it, and a couple more months to save up for the fifty percent.
today, i am glad that i learned how to handle money the hard way. today, i don't feel comfortable without my own money in the blank. there is always a limit to my accounts. i don't borrow money from people because i don't want to be in debt (except the credit card which i am now fixing). i may be broke today but not that totally broke and this, i thank my parents for. but most all, i thank God for His blessing because without Him, i might truly be in the real sense of the word --- Broke.
No comments:
Post a Comment