those children instead of letting them
start their own life and provide for their
children.
I am very much cognisant of the fact that
the persistent cycles of poverty can only
be broken by the government correcting
historical injustices, planning worthwhile
investments in the economy, and providing
employment opportunities for people to
earn. But as we call on the government to
(hopefully) act, we can secure our present
and future by setting and maintaining
proper financial boundaries. In doing so,
we become smarter and avoid passing on
this poor situation to future generations.
Financial Boundaries
Setting financial boundaries begins by
assessing our finances objectively to
acknowledge what we can practically do
with it. This assessment is not about how
much we earn, but how much we can
spend, even though what we can spend is
dictated by what we have.
I have come to the understanding that
what I can spend is only arrived at after
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saving what I have decided to be saving.
I can only spend what I have, and I can
only say I have a certain amount after
saving. This is a sure way of ensuring
that I become the weak link in the cycle
of poverty. I will do my best to help my
family, but after saving for the future of
my children.
Therefore, every young person reading this
article should realize that it is important
to prioritise saving, no matter how little
you earn. And the sooner you start, the
better!
After saving and understanding how much
you are left with and looking at all the
things you need to do, you need to have
a sincere and open discussion with your
family about those finances, and on how
much you can spend on black tax. With
such an understanding, they will begin to
see where you’re coming from and where
you’re going. This will help manage their
expectations and eliminate unnecessary
pressure. It is important to also ensure
your black tax is spent on teaching the
family how to fish, and not always buying
fish for them.
In an ideal society, the normal
understanding should be that a child is
not an investment. There should never
be any financial expectations on a child.
Parents need to arrange their lives such
that they have enough to provide for their
kids and retire into. There should not be
any obligation on a child to provide for
the parent. It only follows, then, that
parents should only have as many children
as they can provide for without depleting
their own resources for retirement.
Children should also be ready to be
'released into the world' when they
hit adult age and are able to fend for
themselves. It is criminal for ‘grown
ups’ to continue sticking on their aging
parents for their survival as if they were
parasites!
Lessons Across Borders
Recently I met a group of students from
Singapore Management University. I
engaged a few of them into the discussion