If only I can earn more money...

If only I can earn more money...

And I thought to myself, my life would be complete and things would be really good. What would I do? First I will clear all my credit cards debt, then I can go buy that branded jeans that I've always wanted. Maybe a new laptop or drive a bigger car.

I do not have to suffer the week before pay day, which is a painful part of life that I dreaded every month. Sometimes, it was so bad that I had to borrow loose change from mom for bus fare or toll. Turning down supper invitation and pretended that I made other supper plans. At times, I even starved myself to survive the 'broke' week.

You can guess that the list will be never ending. And earning more would make me really happy and satisfied.

That was what I thought when I first started working.

Now my paycheck is more than triple of my first paycheck.

Do I have zero credit card debts? No, I have 5 times higher.

Do I have a pair of branded jeans? Yes, but 1 is not enough.

Do I have my dream laptop? No.

Do I drive a bigger car? Yes, a bigger Proton - nothing to shout about.

Is the ‘suffering week before pay day’ gone? No, it is still there sometimes.

Have I stopped borrowing loose change for the last 1 year? No.

Have I stopped turning down supper invitation because I’m broke? No.

Wait a minute… life isn’t all as good as I imagined. What’s wrong?

Well, it took me almost 10 years to realize that it is not about how much money I earn, it is about how I manage it.

Kid you not, I have friends that earn much less than I but own a property, drive bigger car and still have a delightful bank account balance.

How can this be? It doesn’t make any sense.

Then I realized, it is what I do with the money I earn that is important.

I feel really silly all these years.

If you promise not to laugh, I’ll tell you what my first job was. No, giggle is not allowed too. Promise?

OK.

I was a Financial Planner in a bank. Well, at least I’m seriously planning my own finances now.

It doesn’t matter how much you earn. If you do not know how to manage your money, you can still feel like a pauper.

So ladies and gentleman, manage what you have now, because life may not get any better by earning more.