Money Can Be Made Back. Life Cannot
Having been raised in China, the attitudes about money that I was exposed to as a child never quite left me. I grew up poor, living with my grandparents in a small, government subsidized housing that was just city enough to not be considered a village, but just rural enough that everyone in the city considered us outsiders. Because money was always tight, savings was something to be treasured. Hoarded, even. I remember my grandparents kept wads of cash in the back of their closet, and I only got a glimpse of it around Chinese New Year, when it was time to stuff bills into little red sleeves to gift to people.
In 2002, my parents and I moved to the United States. Because my parents had emigrated to the U.S. with very few resources, we lived in austerity the first few years. A small, barren apartment with found or donated furniture, a car we could barely afford to drive, and, for the longest time, we stole our neighbor's wifi connection because we couldn't get our own. Everything else we had went towards savings. If we had a little extra money, we put it away, we didn't spend it.
“Looking back, I realize that, although being able to set aside money for savings was a hard-earned achievement, I also see how much of life was missed while we were stockpiling our money.”
Interestingly - and perhaps ironically - now that I am an adult in charge of my own finances, I realize that, although these attitudes stayed with me, they have actually motivated me to behave in the opposite manner of what they were suppose to instill. Looking back, I realize that, although being able to set aside money for savings was a hard-earned achievement, I also see how much of life was missed while we were stockpiling our money. Cash that could have gone towards a holiday meal with family was sitting in the back of a closet. Money my parents could have spent on a family gatherings went into a bank account, where it sat for years. In some ways, I resented that.
Now, in my personal life, I approach the issue of money with a rather cautiously cavalier attitude. I keep enough to take care of bills and housekeeping. Everything else I pour into travel and activities. I rue the idea that I may miss out on life and adventures because I was more concerned with savings than actually living. Admittedly, the result of this has sometimes been that I missed a credit payment, or that I had to Paypal someone. But, the more significant result is that I have visited over 70 countries, speak six languages, possess three graduate degrees, and have gained valuable life experience.
Contrary to what my upbringing would have me think, money can be made back. Your time and your energy and you life cannot.