Childhood Memories of Money Assignment Paper.
I happened to be raised in abject poverty. My family often struggled with money and to
make ends meet, my parents would at times resort to doing odd jobs. Luckily though, there was
always food on the table. We lived in a very small house that often needed maintenance. For
instance, the roof was leaking, some windows were broken, and the floor was always damp. In
short, life was often tough. Childhood Memories of Money Assignment Paper.
Not far from our house, there lived a fairly rich family. They had a son named
Christopher who would always ride on his bike the moment he returned from school. I envied his
bike so much. I think it was a bike known as BMX or something close to that. At one time, my
father found me just staring at Christopher and his bike and he knew that I too wanted a bike so
badly. However, we couldn’t afford it by then. At one time, I think I was about nine or ten; I
made up my mind to save up the little money I got from relatives and my parents so that I could
also get my own bike one day. Childhood Memories of Money Assignment Paper.Truth be told, I think it was what that I was doing that ended up
shaping my attitudes towards saving.
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Initially, I had no idea on how and where to save my money. I had set a target of around
$60. However, relying on my parents and relatives could not meet my target. With that, I asked
my parents if I could collect and save aluminum cans so that I could sell them later to the metal
dealer. They obliged but advised me that I would need more than five hundred can in order to
meet my target. That was exactly what I did. I began collecting all the cans we used at home,
while coming up with an arrangement with our neighbors to collect their used cans on weekly
basis. I diligently collected countless cans and filled them up in plastic bags that I bought using
my birthday money.
One sunny day, my father returned from work with some good news. He told me that
aluminum prices had almost doubled and the metal dealer was paying almost $1 per pound. On
doing the math, we found out that what I had collected; even on a low estimate was in the range
of $200. What I felt was beyond words. We agreed to sell them the next day. The night seemed
longer than usual. Finally it dawned and I’m there bouncing off the walls ready to go meet the
dealer. Soon enough, my father finishes up with his breakfast and off we go. On weighing up the
cans, what happened next seemed like a dream. The dealer says that he will pay us $214. I had
never seen and held a hundred dollar bill. All was mine. By midday, I was having my own bike.
Through patience and saving, I had achieved one of my heart’s desires. Childhood Memories of Money Assignment Paper.
From this experience, I began to understand the meaning and importance of money and
saving. Initially, I didn’t know what money was or what it could actually. To me, money was just
some pieces of paper or metal. However, as I attended school and advanced in age I learnt and
understood many aspects to do with money. For instance, I began understanding that money was
a unit of exchange that could do a lot and without it, one could not get some things. The bike that
I admired so much was costly. It was beyond our financial reach. If we had enough money,
getting it could not have been a problem. The food that we ate, the house that we rented, the
clothes that we wore were all bought using money. In fact, it was my parents who taught me
more on what money was in addition to its value. I never knew anything like denominations. Childhood Memories of Money Assignment Paper.
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However, as I advanced in age, all aspects to do with money became conversant to me. I knew
that saving was important. At times when situations were hard, savings that one had made might
be of great help.
As indicated earlier, I was raised in pretty intense poverty. My family and I struggled
with money. Meeting daily needs became a daunting task hence seeing the importance of patience and saving. The need to save and achieve my target really shaped my relationship with
money and the world in general. I learnt to be overly cautious when spending. I limited my
spending habits to only choosing to spend on those things that mattered the most. I’m not a
heavy spender as such. Childhood Memories of Money Assignment Paper.I learnt that with money, one can have a lot-not necessarily everything, but a lot. The neighbors living at a distant from us is a perfect example of this. Their son had a bike whose worth could have fed my family for days. As my family struggled for survival, those
with sufficient cash enjoyed the finer things in life.
Apart from the above, this past childhood experience also taught me some lessons about
managing my personal finance. I learnt the aspect of patience and sacrifice. I had to let go of
some wants and needs in order to achieve my biggest target. I learnt that with patience, things
that seemed difficult could be attained. Saving money made me to feel safe and secure. Childhood Memories of Money Assignment Paper.