When a Bank Runs

My family’s money was my money. My parents never gave me weekly allowances. I brought my own food until I reached grade 2/3 (when there were already food vendors near the classrooms).They only gave me what my estimated needs for the day was, and I gave them the spare. I never saved money that came from my “allowances”. I was honest and I gave them absolutely everything in excess. They still let me save money that I get from Christmas gifts and from other things though. When I wanted to buy something, I just needed to ask, and if they felt like it, my parents would buy it. When I was a little kid, I bought quite a number of toys (without abusing my parents’ money). I bought Marvel action figures, Power Rangers merchandize, Dragon Ball Z action figures, and the like. Even if the situation was such, I would sometimes still look at the prices, and avoid those that hurt. When I want to buy something on regular occasion-free day, I would choose the smaller and cheaper ones only, and wait for Christmas or my birthday before I put the great big Megazord on my wish list. At a very young age, I potentially had some conscience of a thrifty person. When someone asked me if I wanted something, I answered “is it ok?”

When I was incoming grade 4(couldn’t remember the exact year, but I think you get the picture), there was this bank called Urban Bank. All of our eggs were in one basket, the Urban Bank. Our money was in Urban Bank and it closed, bank holiday. Our money was “with them” but they don’t have it. So were the funds of all the other clients of the bank. It was like a store closing down. The bank didn’t have enough funds to give back to everyone all that they have deposited. They were able to give every client only a little portion of their money. This event gave me 2 mindsets to choose from. First is “Why the heck should I even save money if some unfortunate event could make you lose it all in one instant anyway?” The other is “Maybe I should spend less to make things easier for us”. Luckily, I chose to spend less.

Even as a little kid, I felt that I had to do something. My parents said that we had to start spending less, but we still had some spare cash for things that we want. But still, I chose not to buy too much crap anymore. When someone asked me what I wanted, I answered “which one is cheaper?” And sometimes, I answered “no thanks I don’t need it” Before Urban Bank fell, I had some attributes of a thrifty person, but I still bought some of those useless things, and spent money. After the Urban Bank’s fall, I spent much less. The potential attributes of a thrifty person were given the chance to develop and turn me in to a thrifty man. Aside from being more contented with what I have, the things that I bought also were changing from action figures to cheap PSone games (you know why they are cheap). Another factor that helped tighten up my pocket is the fact that having 1 good unfinished PSone game was equivalent to having 10 unfinished PSone games. You can’t use the 10 PSone games at the same time, therefore it is equally entertaining to stick to one and finish it first before you get another one. Also, some games have good replay value, making it still fun to play even after you have finished them. The Urban Bank closure gave me the chance to be thrifty. Luckily, the Captain Hooks of Green Hills made entertainment more economical too.

A few years later, the Urban Bank was able to either merge or liquidate its assets (I don’t remember if it merged with bank of Commerce, liquidated its assets or both) and pay back to its clients. In other words, things were back to normal. I could have returned to my old self with potentially thrifty attributes, but no. I chose to stay thrifty. Or perhaps, I was naturally inclined to being thrifty and practical.

Up to this day, my family’s money is still my money. There’s still no sneaky savings from my allowance. The excess still returns to my parents. The money for what I want still comes to me. It may seem like a spoiled treatment for some, but I’ll say it isn’t, since I don’t abuse it in any way. A spoiled person would have asked for everything possible. Even if things are back to normal, I still am thrifty. Now, I am even thriftier more than ever before. Aided by laziness and contentment, there are months that I don’t buy anything at all (aside from food, drinks, etc.). All these experiences have taught me, both consciously and subconsciously, how to be thrifty, and also how to respect the funds of others. I’m now a guy who would rather listen to the songs in his brain rather than buy an Ipod. All in all, I learned that hard times could be made easier when you adjust for it. In this case, if water takes the shape of its container, a wallet should securely fit in the pocket.

~ by oro on March 16, 2008.