The way money works

If you are hoping that this piece will help you tide over the "recession" by a deep understanding of the way money works, I apologize in advance for the seemingly deceptive title. What it is, is a set of a my own views on money.

My first view of money growing up, courtesy of dad, was that it was meant to make the most of. We were never rich, probably just in the "upper" middle-class. Yet, we had always seen much more than most of the people around who earned as much, or at times more money than us. Be it books, movies, branded clothes, family vacations, or eating out - we did things in style. I remember being 12 when paying 0ver a 1000 bucks for dinner was a done thing. I used to be surprised when friends of mine used to express angst at how expensive a place is if they (i.e. their dads) had to fork ouy over 500. Little did I know that for most people in our income group, it actually was!

Consequently we saw a lot of the good things in life, at the expense of us not having a lot in the name of savings. But as dad says, we've always been fortunate in that some way or the other, we've always managed to find enough money to do what we need to - be it my sister's wedding or my exorbitantly priced education.

That brings us to the second view, starkly contrasting with the first, that money needs to be conserved. We've seen tough times where money was concerned, and while we never struggled for the necessities, we had to rethink what was necessary and how much of it was necessary. Thousand buck dinners still happened, but now they usually demanded occasions, that was about it.

The third is a stronger view of the second, post my educational loan. While no one can argue that borrowing money for education is one of the worthiest reasons for doing so, I (and all my friends who have) still can't help feeling fear and at times doubt about whether it was the right decision. Financial concerns take up so much of your mental energy, its something that you cannot imagine till you are put in them. Don't get me wrong, at some point in life, you have to face up to them, but they really hit you the first time.

So, I find it a little funny and disappointing at the same time when people think it fit to continually poke fun at me for not wanting to spend money. How they don't see it fit to question if there is an underlying reason rather than just a character flaw. I may not be better for it, but I am not comfortable spending my folks' hard earned money on non-essential things, I don't feel a natural right to it. I don't even like that fact that I never did well enough to save my folks some money - be it on classes or due to scholarships or whatever. That itself precludes me acting like all their money is my own and spending it as and when I please, that is just not done.

Agreed, that I'm taking a holier than thou approach, considering how many people I have made fun of myself on things that I should not have (and probably continue to, albeit without realizing), but I never did say perfection was my quality or even my goal! :P