A note to my 19 year old self

At 19 years of age, I was in the army. To me back then, there were 2 kinds of guys. Clubbers and non-clubbers. I mean logically how could any guy resist? We were in camp 5 days a week training for stuff or doing things that we had the least interest to do but had no choice. It was all about the weekends and how much your pay allowance can handle. Being on the sidelines when I saw how my clubber peers blew their allowances scared me quite a bit. These people had already spent all their money for the month by mid of the month and were quite literally borrowing money from their closer peers for canteen breaks. At that age, I never really understood why they had to do all that but with time I understood it was all about the ladies and lust. We were guys right? However, in my own world, to me it was never acceptable to have no buffer or what grown-ups call an emergency fund. I attribute it to the fact that my mother taught us really well when we were younger, maybe in primary school. 

Instilling financial management concepts at a young age

You see, like every parent, she would give us our weekly allowance on a weekly basis for the full amount. But here's the catch, she would add a disclaimer while she handed us the money. She would say, "This is for the entire week, you will not get another cent more from me". Imagine you as a primary school boy now. Whoever said there are fewer distractions in the olden days probably forgotten theirs. Fanciful pencil cases, bags, stationery, even the canteen food were distractions for a child who always seemed to be hungry. Comics, cards, games, the list goes on. I wanted them all and reality hurts. From that age, I realised I had to manage my finances carefully as it was limited. Funny as it sounded, I guess the management was really helpful with maths and maybe that why I did better at maths. I remember working out expenses on comics and food while staying in black ink surplus. Even after purchasing the comic, the comic had to last. I limited my reading such that the comic could last a week before my funds refreshed for my next expense. I realised much later in life that it was never about how much money your parents could give you but how you manage your expenses. Without prudency, there would not even be savings to begin with. The teachings stood to benefit me especially when my dad passed away when I turned 13. Seeing how my mum struggled to make ends meet to raise me, reinforced how I viewed financial prudency as I grew up and its importance.

Exposure to Stocks

Without clubbing as an expense, I managed to saved quite a bit money while I enjoyed the little things in life that bring me joy. I guess I really have to thank my uncle for introducing me to stocks. That said, my uncle was never an investor I concluded. My uncle was more of a gambler and a proud one for the fact. Horse racing was his game. He only knew stocks in the later part of his life and he was telling me all about how Starhub used to be $3 but is now $2 due to the financial crisis of 2008. I remember him asking me if I would like him to buy some shares for me. I was apprehensive. My world was all about saving. I mean save up and gain interest, isn't that what was going to make me richer and better off in life? After a while, he started to mentioned how he had made some money, buying and selling some shares. And that my friends, was how I got intrigued by this entirely different world and how it would eventually change my world.

To be continued...