I get asked that question many many times per week. Do i choose to live so or am i brought up this way? This question is very hard to answer, you may look at it from a few different stand points.
I am Hokkien, GENERALLY, Hokkiens are known to be
kiamsiap (stingy in Hokkien). I was born into a family with no spoon in my mouth unlike some who have silver or even golden spoon. So i do not have the luxury of using RM300 bags to use a school bag. To own a cupboard full of Polo Ralph Laurens, DKNY, Quiksilver, Billabong, Nike etc etc etc. I believe when i was in secondary school only i had BUM Equipment shirt for CNY. I was over the moon with that shirt and believe it or not i still have that shirt in my cupboard though i may not be able to fit it as comfortably as when i initially got it. Later on, i remember getting my first imitation Quiksilver shirt which i was again over the moon with. I also received a BUM Equipment shirt for my birthday from my then girlfriend, i would say that its one of the best gift i have ever received at around that age.
Unlike my peers who go to school with pocket money, i was given none at all. I would bring a cream bread for recess. This was until i an incident whereby i needed to call home for some incident. From then on, i would have a small amount of pocket money mainly for emergency cases where i need call home, not really for buying more food.
When shopping for clothes, i really cannot comprehend why some people are very willing to pay for clothes which in my opinion are very much over-priced. If you want to argue the point that they are comfortable, soft and stylish, then i would say that i would be able to get several pieces of comfortable, soft and stylish clothings which do not carry mainstream brands. Business shirts which are sold at RM100 a piece would be snapped up because its supposed to be wrinkle-free, where in fact i have seen many which claimed to be wrinkle-free are not so wrinkle-free-able when tried out. So to me they are roughly the same value of not so "branded" shirts which i can get for a fraction of the price. The trick i suppose for not getting a too wrinkled shirt (and able to wear without ironing) is during the washing and drying under the sun process. Learn that and you will get a couple of extra shirts instead of buying high-priced shirts which DO NOT WORK as claimed!
I got to know and became good friends with several online friends via games namely in Facebook. When playing those games there will be some form of monetary transfer taxes, item tradings, etc etc etc. I would be calculative on what are the losses against the gains. 10% taxes when transferring gold, items to be bought at cheaper prices to get more profit gains when re-sold, or in some cases, using real life money to buy things in those games. And i quote from some of them, "Its only 50c when converted back to RM", "Its only 10% tax mar, pay it lar", "Haiyar, nvm lar cheap cheap only what 10% tax" etc etc etc. Since i do not invest real money into those games, so i have to improvise and be more prudent in my spending despite it just being an online game.
Contrary to popular belief that being a big MNC, my supposed salary would be so great and grand that i can spend lavishly. But the fact of the matter is, I only have RM400 (a small fraction of my salary) or so to spend for myself, that is inclusive of my LRT travel, in fact, that amount is lesser than what i give to my mother. Strange for a person who is supposed to be prudent in his spendings, i actually have a 5 figure credit card debt, right? These are actually reminiscense of what i thought i was doing to the best of my ability to support my family. Not to worry, i have come up with plan which can shoot a few birds with just 1 stone, hopefully all these will be resolved soon.
*Imminent rise of petrol price tomorrow (of course that was during the upward trend of crude oil prices)* and many of my friends would ask me, "How much can you save? RM10? And what would that buy you???". Hmm RM10, on lucky times, i can get 2-3 days lunch, not so lucky, 1 lunch and its gone. What does that mean? I get to stretch my RM400 just a little further, just a little more breathing space every time i check my wallet.
"HOW CAN YOU TELL ME YOU ONLY CARRY RM50 TO GO SHOPPING??? Do you know everyone that i know will always have RM200 in their wallet?", someone whom i shop with many many times and would ask me that almost every time. Let's see, if i were to carry RM400 with me, there will most likely be a tendency to spend it for some not so useful things and if that is done, how much is left for me to spend for food and travel to work? This may be a crazy way for me to curb spending BUT i find it to be very effective. Of course there are times when i would hit a snag when i must really fork out more than RM50, for times like these, one would have to be thick faced enough to borrow and return the next day. Sometimes you have got to do what you have to do, everyone have different mentalities, ways of thinking, for me, i feel like this is a good option though it may seem idiotic/insane to many. Other people's mouth is on their face, their brain in their head, it is NOT controlled by you so how are you going to control what they want to say or think? That may not sound right to many people, but its a fact, forcing them to say things that please you do not mean they agree with you inside their brain.
How i envy my friends and colleagues who can afford so many things. DSLRs, frequent overseas trips, more than 2 handphones, PDAs, nice cars, sports rims, MP3 CD players in their cars and other gadgets which can me drool all over the place. During lunch, i would be asked by my colleagues, "Law, you tak makan ke? Diet?", i would usually just answer with a nod and smile. =)
There is only 1 way from here, forward, rain or shine.
Was i shaped to be calculative as my surroundings do not have the resources for me to be lavish OR was it my choice due to my own financial situation? I really can't tell for sure anymore. @_@
