I was always a naughty child. When I was in school, I would receive 50 Rupees as pocket money for a whole week and whatever money I would receive from my father, I would spend it on buying chocolates and other trivial stuff. I would never save anything and would always be asking my Dad for more money before the week was over. He gave in to my demands and tantrums most of the times but then one day at the start of the month he called me over and told me that he wanted to have a talk with me.
He gave me my 50 Rupees for the week and told me that if I could save 100 Rupees by the end of the month he would buy me my favorite toy or my favorite comic book set. He told me that he wished and hoped that I saved so that he could gift me an item of my choice at the end of the month. I was excited to hear that and gave him a slight nod. I was really skeptical about how I would save that much money as I would spend it either on chocolates or some junk food outside my school or on some new erasers or pencils.
The first week was a disaster as I could not save more than 10 Rs and as the cravings increased the savings further diminished in the second week. I think I had around 15-20 Rs by the end of the second week. I decided to approach my Father to tell him that it would not be possible for me to save the 100 Rs by the end of the month. Later that night, I and my Father sat down together to have a chat and I narrated to him my worries. He asked me where I had spent my money and on what day. I had no answer. He told me to always keep a tab on your spending so that I can know if I am spending my money the correct way and can cut out something which is not required. He suggested that I keep a diary in which I write all the spending that I make through the week. He also gave me a simple solution that in order to save Rs 100 in a month I needed to save 25 Rs per week on an average. He advised me to not spend more than 25 Rs every week unless absolutely necessary and that way I will easily meet my target of 100 Rs.
I heeded the suggestions of my Father and made a diary in which I wrote down my daily expenditures. I also started to plan what things I would spend on, a week in advance. I would make a list of the things that were absolutely necessary to buy and things that could wait a little more. With the help of my Dad, I was transforming slowly. That month I could save only about 50 Rs. And the second month was no better. But my Father kept on egging me and told me that I had it in me to do what I was being told. Slowly, the savings started to increase and in the 4th month I had saved 120 Rs! My happiness knew no bounds and when I disclosed it to my Father he patted my back and told me that he had always believed in me.
He asked me what gift I would like and I told him I will want the Automatic Flying Airplane and he agreed to get me that the next day. He also told me that the challenge will continue as long as I wanted and that I could discontinue anytime. Thinking back to those days, I guess that he knew that I would not back off from a challenge and he succeeded. He opened a bank account in my name and handed me its reins. It transformed me from a spendthrift to a more responsible and self-reliant person. I had saved so much in a year or so that I no longer needed to ask him for any pocket money!!
It is very important how a person manages the money and I would like to thank my Dad for making me a better person in my life by making me self reliable and responsible!
This post is written for Indiblogger Happy Hours.
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