How our Money Blueprint Grows !

How Our Money Blueprint Grows !

Just sharing a small story from my life experiences on money .

I started working and was always walking to work ! Just could not afford a car ! While that was in India . My starting salary was Rupees 300.00 ! Hahahahah . It's about US$ 6-7 /. for 30 days of working !! I had a female colleague who just got married to a Millionaire ! She was chauffeured to work for the same work and pay ! If she saw me walking , she was kind enough to give me a lift .

That was my start to the world of working and understanding the value of money.

After that I came back to Malaysia and started work as a houseman . Well my pay was double !

Now , I was earning Ringgit 600.00 ! It's about US$ 180.00 for 30 days too . That was a good jump !

Still I cannot afford a car . Here my grandmother comes to my rescue . She had an old vintage English car lying in her garage and just crumpling down naturally . I managed to get that car moving and was a very proud young doctor driving around . Towards the end of my houseman , I actually went to the bank manager to borrow Ringgit 2000.00 so that I could buy my own car ! I got my first loan fast.

Most good cars were around Ringgit 7000.00 . No, not new cars ! This were fairly decent used cars . It was no where near my financial situation. I did a brainstorming on how to get my car with my uncle, also a struggling doctor ! We came out with , a so-called brilliant idea. Some big American cars were going for a song because they were petrol guzzlers . Why not buy one of those Fords and just top up the petrol . After all I am buying the car cheap . That's where my Ringgit 2000,00 went . It was a huge car for Malaysian roads . I enjoyed my petrol guzzler for sometime . Money was just dripping away from my pocket . Finally, I managed to get another average car that appeared and kind to my pocket. My American car was left to decay or crumple as no one wanted to touch it .At the end it was sent a scrape yard ! 

Now I had an average decant car by Malaysian standards . By this stage of my career I was doing my psychiatric work cum studying . That's when reality hit me to the importance of this entity called money. I was getting very tired of struggling to look after my family and me . Decided to leave working as a wage earner and start my own medical practice . 

Within a few months I bought a smallish Japanese car , Honda Perlude ! That was a fun car to drive . I was already tasting a new life . My Honda Perlude cost me Ringgit 19,000.00 . Now you can see that I am getting comfortable and confident towards money! 

Now comes the big jump. After about 4 years being in my own business , I felt I wanted to have an image of success ! Why did I needed to show that !? That was the given opinion of people around me . So, I thought I better go with the flow.

I decided to buy a German car , Mercedes Benz.The so-called symbol of success in my country or probably in most countries. I planned my budget to be around Ringgit 50,000.00 . Well, if the car is really to my liking I will go another Ringgit 5000.00 . With that in mind , after much thinking I started looking for my ultimate car !

In no time a Mercedes was brought to my place . The salesperson was a seasoned 50 plus years old. Matured and know his job . He told me that the price of the wonderful car was Ringgit 60,000,00 !

I felt very uncomfortable and was struggling with my own self limit that I had set. My maximum was not over 55,000.00 . Now what to do as they were not budging. They had good reason as the car was priced right . I sat there perplexed and wondered. A dear friend was with me to give support . He saw my perplexed state and explained to me that there was nothing to get too confused with the decision making . He told me that if can afford 55,000.00 than another 5,000.00 is no problem . Anyway, I am not buying my dream car cash . As I am taking a loan from the bank , what difference does it make if the loan is paid an extra few more months ! 

That was my ' Ah ' moment ! Yes, that is it ! 

So, that is how I got my dream car . I would now see the reasoning and was comfortable with such a big step in my financial journey .

After 3 years , I decided to up grade my car to the latest model . 

Now , sitting in my office , I rang my car sales people and told them that I wanted to get the latest model. I wanted the model with all the trappings of comfort.

The new price was a whopping 180,000.00 . I did not even blink an eye !

Over the phone , I bought a 180,000.00 car ! What is there to fear . I learned to take care of the monthly payment , which I could easily . 

So, that is my expanding journey on money !

Well, that was the last time I ever bought a car in that price bracket .

The next phase of my financial journey for another day .

Thanks for being patient. 

The simple moral of the story is to show how we Humans are fascinating and strange creatures .

We set our own limits and than we struggle to go beyond those limits !