Sunday, October 15, 2006 Luab: Save for a rainy day By Evelyn R. Luab Light Sunday
THE saying, “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die”, although often quoted, is a very stupid attitude.
What happens when one gets sick or when a loved one has to be admitted to a hospital?
For all of us who have been admitted to a hospital, we know exactly how it feels when even on the first night after admission, thousands of pesos fly.
The day to day prescriptions and lab tests require more pesos to take wings. Of course we are so thankful when our patients get well. However when we finally get released from the hospital, grateful as we are, to our physicians and nurses, we stagger home due to the hospital bill. Again I am teasingly trying to make a point which is, “We need to save for a rainy day.”
I was very young when World War II occurred. My parents and I had to run to the mountains when the Japanese came. We belonged to the group of the lucky ones because my mom had money. Actually my Dad used to call her Silas Warner. She was so frugal. We rarely went to watch movies and we only had expensive dishes on a Sunday. Her being thrifty paid off. While many people were hungry, our group had food thanks to my mom. We could buy rice, vegetables, and fruits. Therefore we never went hungry. From that time on, my Dad stopped calling her Silas Warner.
When I was at U.P. Diliman in the late 50’s my allowance was P120 a month. That was already considered very good. I could pay for my lodging at the South Dorm, eat at the canteen, buy my school supplies and save something extra. Many of my co-boarders had exactly the same amount but a good number never bothered to save. So when the semestral break came, I could buy a boat ticket to Cebu to visit my parents while those who did not have boat fare had to stick it out in a very depleted dorm. Many of us at Diliman felt we had to go home during the Christmas vacation so we did not want to bother our parents for the extra fare during the semestral break. The lucky ones got home.
As parents we notice the different character traits of our children. We know that one is usually the spendthrift and has to borrow from her siblings. Another one could be a miser and therefore can afford to buy beautiful things for certain occasions I had a daughter who didn’t buy textbooks but used her library card often. Her notes were plentiful. She felt she could save money that way.
Today, she has a thriving business of her own. For somebody young, that is something of an achievement.
My grandchildren today have piggy banks which we started for them. Young as they are, all under 15, we already can see who can save and who cannot. I’m sure some of us remember that during our time, some of us cheated too when it came to piggy banks. We would use a razor blade to slide halfway inside the hole of the piggy bank. We would then turn the piggy bank upside down. A coin is bound to land on the blade. With dexterity, we would pull out the blade and presto we could get as many coins as we wanted.
Today most of us are way past the cheating stage and we have learned to be frugal. Times are difficult and prices of basic commodities are soaring.
We have learned to locate bargain stores. We watch TV instead of movies. We eat out on rare occasions. We do not buy clothes, shoes, etc unless absolutely necessary. The children bring sandwiches and juice to school instead of bringing money. We limit the expenditures or the vices of our husbands. If he really has to smoke, then his pack of cigarettes must reach a week. If he really has to drink, a bottle of beer is allowed once every four days. Poor hubby has to cooperate for finances to be stable.
We have learned to invest in all sorts of insurance in order to make “tepid” (save). We have learned to recycle old clothes. We have also managed to lessen our desserts and our visits to coffee shops. There are really so many ways to cut down on expenses especially on food that destroys one’s health.
However inspite of all that we have learned from experience, inspite of all our know-how, we have recently learned that savings can be severely depleted or wiped out just by a short stay in any private hospital. What happens to those who really have nothing saved?
