today, we'll talk about..

...money!

yes, money! moolah!

to begin with, let me tell you a little about the what i was taught in regards to money and savings when i was younger. growing up in malaysia, i know that everyone needs to work hard. really hard. money cant just grow on trees or fall down from the sky. so i was taught to save money, and only spend money when you can really afford it, or even better, only spend it on something you really need.

my parents worked really hard to be where they are now. i remember my mum was back at work 1 week after giving bith to my sister coz my parents' business was blooming at that time. and even i, at a young age of 9, would stay up over the weekends to help my parents do some work, coz they just didn't have enough time to get everything done, on top of all the man power that they had. i was given an easy task: stamp dates on promotional vouchers.

anyway, my point is, people have to work hard for money. of course, some people are just lucky and they win some lucky draws or lotto or something. but the thing is, how much have these people spent, buying their "lucky tickets" week after week?

since i started living in nz, i realised that the people here in general, do not care much about working hard. the people here spend money on useless things, like their friday night beers and expensive dinner, going on holidays when they cant even afford it and maybe spending $200 or more on fireworks for guy fawkes.

i know, you should buy somethings to have fun too, but the reality is, can you really afford it? or are you using government's money for all these things? i saw so many families at the warehouse the other day, buying big boxes of fireworks. see, if you buy in small amounts, you can still have fun right? what do you get out of the fireworks? you go ohh and ahh at them, but what do you gain out of it at the end of the day? it's really seeing your money going up in smoke! might as well have the nice feeling of burning hard cold cash with a lighter!

now, let's talk about alcohols. i used to drink a little, occassionally. when i go out for dinner, i'll order a cocktail or something. now, a cocktail isn't exactly expensive, nor is it cheap. an average cocktail probably costs around $13. today, i ask myself this question: what did i get out of that? nothing. i go home with a red face, a little more damaged liver and a whole lot of blood pumping through my body rapidly. that's about it. oh, i enjoyed the taste a little, but it'll probbaly taste better without the alcohol. afterall, a cocktail is a mixture of fruits and alcohol, no? i might as well make a smoothie or a fruit punch for myself..

the average person living in nz (and elsewhere) looks forward to friday. why? because that is the evening they get to go out and have some beer or wine, and have a nice and posh expensive dinner. now, how much are you going to spend on something like that, over a year? friday after friday you go out, and you spend maybe about, $40 per person? it's just digging into your account, deeper and deeper.

really, who am i to talk about money when i spend quite a bit of money myself?

hmm, now, a very popular one. travelling. who doesnt want to travel overseas right? i do, but i dont have enough money to go now. or rather, if i do, i'll come back with NOTHING. so, since i cant afford it now, i'm not going on a holiday, even though i would really to go on one. i'm not going to march up to the bank and ask for a holiday loan. that sounds totally ridiculous to me! why would i want to go enjoy my holiday while worrying about how to pay my loan back? i would rather earn the money, go on a nice holiday and give a myself a pat on the back and say "well done! you worked hard for this, so here's your well deserved holiday." isn't that WAY better?

i just dont understand how people live and spend their money.....so different to what i was taught when i was younger -_-

now, to justify myself about spending, i DO have a small business of my own. so when i earn a little money from all the hardwork (it's really hardwork sourcing for a supplier and thinking of the right items to import!), i do splurge a little, and put the rest in my savings account. and when i splurge, i dont spend like $100, i usually spend $30 on a top, and that's about it. if it's any more expensive, i'll crinkle my nose and forget about it, or come back to it again when it's on sale.

so yah. that's view on people and how they spend their money. ridiculous, shall i say?

but, no matter how much treasure we store on earth, it belongs to God at the end of the day :) and these are only wordly things. we're not going to bring these treasures with us when we die anyway!

and that ends my "i'm so stressed" rant for the day. thank you for your attention!