How much will be enough? 

 

This is the story of a girl who since she was little, had a habit of saving money. It’s almost rare nowadays to find kids who understand the value of money don’t you think? I mean it’s the parents who are earning the sack painstakingly and the children blow off the notes like water bubbles. There is no end to their wants.

The first job I had gave me just Rs.50 per piece and that won’t even fetch me a Burger King pizza and growing children would not understand that, I mean most of them. Rina, however was different. She knew that her parents were working hard and that every penny they spent on her was a penny that they would not be spending on themselves. So she started saving up. At first she cut down on canteen food from her school.

She loved eating the Chole Bhature that the canteen served every Friday but she resisted. Next she cut down on stationary. She would use her notebooks till the very last page and sometimes would even write on the back cover. These steps did not end here. As Rina grew, her savings grew. She understood that small money was not going to be enough to lead her life.

The most important thing was that Rina wanted to pay back her parents for all that they had done for her. For that she needed a little more money. She started working for long hours to collect over-time money.

I mean like, life is short right? If you want to do something then you got to do it fast. Rina was working hard just for the same reason. She understood the value of money and life and did not want to leave out on anything. One day her mother said,

“Rina, I need to talk to you about something”

“What is it mom?”

“You’re father and I are growing old dear and we want to live in a little peaceful place for some time so we were thinking of moving to the outskirts of this city. What do you think about it?”

“That’s great ma! You know what let me buy a house for you!” Rina felt super excited at the thought of this grand present. Finally the time had come. But when she checked her bank account, she felt that buying a house would leave her almost bankrupt. So she decided to save on a little more before buying house. Her parents moved out anyway and rented a place with what money was left with them and thankfully it was enough for them.

After a year or two, Rina got married to someone she viewed as a perfect man. He was rich, handsome, sweet, smart the most importantly, he was caring. They had a daughter and it was a picture perfect family. Things were going good till one day both of Rina’s parents passed away in an accident. It was hard to digest but then this is what life is. Rina felt distressed that even though she had saved so much, she was not able to do anything for her parents. But she was not going to lose hope.

 

Soon Rina’s daughter grew up and crossed from teen life to her twenties. Rina would sometimes have fights with her daughter. It seemed that unlike her, her little girl did not understand the value of money as much and this disheartened her. But kids are kids, they don’t listen until they experience things on their own.

“Mom! Can I talk to you?” Rina’s daughter came running all excited “I passed the test!” She had been taking driving lessons and now she finally had a driver’s license. It was a happy moment for everyone in the family.

“I am so proud of you!” Rina hugged her daughter tightly but soon realized that this is not what her daughter’s main news was. “Do you have to say something else?”

“Yes… actually I was thinking that now that I am not a threat on the road so can I have a car of my own?” her daughter asked part anxiously and part excitedly.

“Oh dear I want to buy you a car! But I don’t have enough savings. Just give me some time and I will buy you one.”

“That’s not needed” Rina’s husband came from behind them with new keys in his hand and their daughter jumped with a scream. She got a car just like that! Being unable to wait she took out the car for a drive.

“Don’t you think you are wasting money a lot? Shouldn’t we be saving for the future?” His husband just laughed and told her that it was okay. Years passed by and Rina grew old and ill.

Finally her time was almost up and her daughter sat beside her holding her hands.

“What are you thinking?” the daughter whispered softly to her mother.

“I was thinking about how you would be living from now on. Promise me that you will spend less and save more.” Hearing this from her paranoid mother was not a new thing.

“Will you tell me just one thing?” her daughter asked

“Yes”

“Why did you save all this money?”

Rina looked thoughtful for a moment as of to build together a nice speech that would do well for her parting words and then spoke.

“I wanted to repay my parents who had taken care of me. I wanted to buy you everything that you wanted. I wanted to travel a lot and eat many things. And I wanted to be satisfied in life” Rina looked proudly at her daughter.

“So… now that the end is near, which one of these have you done?”

Rina’s expression completely flipped. She suddenly realized with a heavy heart what a cruel truth her daughter had pointed out. She had sacrificed so much to save money all her life, and even though she had the basic amount needed to live her life in luxury, she had chosen in virtual poverty.

Moral

The money you are earning is not for what you’ll do 50 years later. It is for what you want to do today. Don’t let the end be filled with regrets. We don’t know when our time will be up so let us enjoy while we can.

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