The Good, the Bad and the PSLE by Monica Lim

Author:Monica Lim
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789810766009
Publisher: Epigram Books
Published: 2017-05-29T00:00:00+00:00

TERM 3

Dollars and Sense

Noah has been grumbling that I haven’t been giving him enough pocket money. It’s not true! I give him enough to buy his food and drinks. April had the same amount at his age and never complained.

“Don’t you have enough to eat?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “But after I spend my money on food, I don’t have any more to buy potato chips for my friends.”

Oh, I see. I shouldn’t be surprised. Noah has a very generous spirit so I imagine he would love to be able to lavish his friends with snacks. He even lends them comics that he has not yet read. No wonder Ming Hao’s mother, Mei, tells me he’s very popular in class.

It’s not that I’m stingy but I feel strongly that my kids should learn how to manage their money. I shudder when I hear of all those young adults who chalk up debts like there’s no tomorrow and expect their parents to bail them out.

I want April and Noah to realise that money is a commodity that needs to be earned and should be used with thought. In this respect, both of them have been well trained. If we enter a toy store, they know better than to badger me to buy something for them. My rule is that I’ll pay for necessities. Extras come out of their own pockets except for the occasional treat that I initiate.

Still, even though they were both brought up the same way, their treatment of money differs. April plans for the future, Noah lives in the now. I once took Noah to the bookstore and told him I would buy him only one Tintin comic. If he wanted more, he had to pay for them himself.

Immediately, he said, “Okay! I have $40 in my piggy bank. How many comics can that buy?” I was a little miffed. Somehow the point of valuing money was lost if he was so willing to part with it.

But a friend recently made me think when she told me, “Saving money is not the same as hoarding money.” To Noah, money is only a means to an end and even though he values money, he does not love it, which I guess is an admirable trait.

Yesterday, Noah asked me, “Mummy, do you know what I want to be when I grow up?”

“What?”

“A millionaire.”

Looks like he has found the solution to his problems.

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