Some children have parents who indulge in their children’s wants and needs, but not mine.
My family shaped my personal finance thinking at a young age by teaching me how to save money and live below my means.
When I was in Primary School, I felt envious when my friends’ parents bought them whatever they wanted. There were a lot of things I wanted to have back in the day, but my mother would never buy them for me. Of course, I was sulky every time she refused to buy me things, but now I realise it was for the best.
Furthermore, I even learned the importance of boosting my income when I was helping my grandmother.
Back then, my grandmother offered me a side income opportunity by earning $1.50 for tying up every 1,000 pcs of chicken rice chilli packets with red strings. I used every free time I had to sit down and complete this task. Proud to say that my highest record was 15,000, and I got paid $15!
I know it is not a lot now, but it was considered a fortune to the kid in me back then. I realised that the more I contributed, the more I could earn.
They taught me the power of investing in myself
Now that I am older, I realised that my mother was right not to buy them for me. She imparted the lesson that if I ever want something that is not a necessity, I will have to find a way to earn that income.
The other money lesson was that if I didn’t have the funds to buy the things I want, it means I could never afford to keep them in the first place.
This is one lesson that stayed with me throughout my career, and one I will continue to pass on to my clients. As a financial consultant, I always tell people not to expect things to be handed to them, but to earn them themselves.
We shouldn’t merely chase after money. Instead, we should pursue the journey of becoming more valuable by growing our skills and character. The money we earn will naturally follow as a by-product of who we become.
Nothing comes free in life, and you can only increase your income by boosting the impact and value you can bring to people.
This article is part of TSS Confessions, a weekly column where we delve into personal finance topics that are unscripted and genuine real accounts from people.
Willis Lau is the Associate Director at Great Eastern Financial Services. He is a financial consultant, team lead, and an avid content creator on Instagram and TikTok. His goals in life are to reach financial independence by the age of 45 and to do the things he does now because he enjoys them, not out of survival.
