It’s fantastic to have dreams but you have to have the means and the capacity of fulfilling them. There’s no point dreaming of a round-the-world holiday if you still haven’t landed your first job and have a bigs HECS fees to pay. Dreams are important but they need to be grounded in reality.

In generations gone by, especially in India where my family hail from, there was no concept of borrowing money and taking loans. It was done the other way round. Make savings and when there was enough money in the kitty they would make a purchase of land or house or whatever it maybe. The banks have made things too easy and lulled society into a false sense of ownership. Low interest loans have made life easier for many but it has also allowed people a means of fulfilling greed for perceived needs rather than what is really required.

There needs to be a dissociation between the dream and the method. It’s still important to have dreams, but then take a step back and assess the practical reality of how you want to achieve it. As soon as you get your first job, set up a separate bank account which is purely for savings. Put aside 20% of your earnings into this “not-to-be-touched” bank account. Any purchases should be made with 80% of your own funds. In modern society, banks allow customers to have loan: value ratios of just the opposite, and then, voila, you’ve been sucked into the trap. It’s the banks that win in the long term. Education of this type unfortunately does not happen in schools.

Instead of giving your kids everything and teaching them the illusion that money grows on trees, teach them this valuable truth that will hold them in good stead for life.

Financial health is part of overall health.

Be well.

In Health and Wellness