 How rich are you? >> I'm loaded. It's official. I'm the 842,519,885 richest person on earth! |
Courtesy of pro_01.
I'm in the top 15% of the world's richest people, so it turns out I lied to my daughter. I keep telling her that we're average - neither poor, not rich. I remind her of the most unfortunate kids in Bulgaria - the Roma kids who scavenge the waste containers.
All things considered, however, we ARE average. We cannot afford a ski vacation, but we're never hungry, we may struggle to pay the bills in winter, but we buy one book every month and rent a movie twice a week. My kids are clothed, fed, and duly entertained. I take them to an amusement park 2-3 times per year, buy them junk food and sweets as seldom as I can, and fresh fruits as often as I can. True, I experience tremendous guilt every time I walk past a toy store. I can see the glitter in their eyes when they look at the Toys We Will Never Afford. And I ask myself, how much do I owe them? How can I teach them the right attitude to money? How do I teach myself the right attitude to money?
A few days ago I thought: I want to have enough money for a decent burial. No, don't say I listen to too much Finnish music (which I do). It's just common sense. And no, I don't mean my funeral, it's just... anybody's funeral. Calculations here.
Ok, maybe I have listened to an unhealthy dose of The Funeral Album:D
All things considered, however, we ARE average. We cannot afford a ski vacation, but we're never hungry, we may struggle to pay the bills in winter, but we buy one book every month and rent a movie twice a week. My kids are clothed, fed, and duly entertained. I take them to an amusement park 2-3 times per year, buy them junk food and sweets as seldom as I can, and fresh fruits as often as I can. True, I experience tremendous guilt every time I walk past a toy store. I can see the glitter in their eyes when they look at the Toys We Will Never Afford. And I ask myself, how much do I owe them? How can I teach them the right attitude to money? How do I teach myself the right attitude to money?
A few days ago I thought: I want to have enough money for a decent burial. No, don't say I listen to too much Finnish music (which I do). It's just common sense. And no, I don't mean my funeral, it's just... anybody's funeral. Calculations here.
Ok, maybe I have listened to an unhealthy dose of The Funeral Album:D
I have been meaning to write a post on money for a long time, but deadlines loom again.
5 comments:
Луксът произвежда лекета.
Особено получаването на онези играчки, които искаш да получиш...
Но наистина се надявам да успееш да им подариш хубави неща за коледа... Във връзка с което, хм, чакай, хрумва ми нещо :)
@ IQ
"Luxury produces lamers" (trying to keep the alliterative effect).
This kind of thinking has led to beheading monarchs in the past:)
No, seriously. One man's luxury is another's necessity. Mm?
Да, и за мен беше крайно наложително да получавам всичко, за което ревах като малък :)
Още си спомням едно пакетче дъвки, заради което бях наказан две седмици. Напълно основателно, впрочем.
Познавал съм обстойно, хм, хора, на които нищо не им е било отказвано.
Не си струваше.
Абе уф, на ТЕБ ли трябва да ти обяснявам колко хубаво нещо е смирението? :))
Малко са начините да накараш дете да осъзнае, че НЕ Е в центъра на света. А не искаме да си мислят това. Подобни светогледи са довели до разстрел, обгазяване, концлагериране и бомбене на хиляди (и милиони) обикновени хора, не само в миналото :)
п.п.
The monarchs were BEGGIN' for it! And would've totally seen it commin, if they weren't raised to be dumber than bush. Липсата на авторитетен педагогически контрол прави това с хората. А никой вече не смеел да наказва принцове...
п.п.п.
Просто твърдя, че освен понички, трябва да има и пръчки. Изяснявам това за всеки случай :)
I am beginning to seriously doubt the stability of my value system. I... gasp! - agree with you:D Or I don't, but am too dumb to realize, again:))
Anyway, I'm trying to strike a balance between buying and not buying. :) Bows are still at the top in the shopping list, though.
And Star Wars Episodes IV, V, and VI. Ideas where to get them dubbed, VHS, if possible?
I've had a time period in my life when I lived in a tiny apartment with my little son. We couldn't afford many things, especially all the toys he wanted but he was too self-conscious to ask for. Or maybe he was so used to his wishes never coming true that he stopped asking. But there were certain things he really wanted that he got: a Furby, a bike, a cell phone. And my fondest moment came when I asked him what he wanted for his 11th birthday. He said he wanted a bank account all for him with the money for the present instead. I realized that he didn't feel deprived because of all those toys we couldn't afford and was willing to sacrifice instant gratification for something bigger...
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