Tip 88: Be cautiously optimistic and contented

Since my last post comparing the current credit crunch in USA to the Great Depression, pessimism has risen to new levels not seen before in a long time. It was a shock to many that it would take USD1 trillion to bail out all the debt ridden American firms and this number may still be growing. The pessimism is not confined within USA as more and more greedy financial giants across the world are coming out of the closet to claim defeat. The American dream the world has shared in the past 2-3 decades is at stack. Wikipedia defined it as one's material wealth which is dependent upon one's abilities and work ethic, and not a rigid class structure. Yes, this is praise worthy, yet we seem to have gotten greedy to think that each human on this earth with sufficient education deserves to live as a king. Do we? I liked this article entitled Dr. Frankenstein's Wall Street on Chicago Tribune that mentioned that historically nearly 4 in 10 of us aren't ever ready, or able to sacrifice for a mortgage downpayment and home maintenance bills and should rent instead. Its time we drive home the message to our children that despite what this capitalistic system and consumerist society tell us, we need to be contented unless we are willing to work hard to get the things we want. Even then, we need to be cautious and rethink on big investments.

Working in Japan, I have been exposed to Japanese mindsets new to me, namely the need to be excessively pessimistic of one's abilities since everyone else is comparing against the mark of excellence. I would not say that this is a good approach to live by since we humans can never be perfect, yet being optimistic without building strong foundations can lead to huge losses and even endanger the lives of people around us. This can be likened to Jesus' parable of the wise men who built his house upon the rock and the foolish men who built his house on sand and suffered great loss in a storm. Jesus was of course, referring to the need to actively build spiritual foundations and live a Godly life, but the lesson can also be applied that we need to plan carefully when making financial decisions. Yet, very often we peer at our neighbours and dream a life where we live like kings and queens, holidaying around the world, driving posh cars and having homes with marble and granite furnishings. Its tempting when its all available on credit. In fact, kids these days do not even need to consider too much of financial responsibility since credit is freely given by their parents without worry of the items being repossessed. A splash on the latest restaurants or the latest gadget. Yet, at some point we need to learn contentment. Probably not an easy task to drill down to our kids that belong to the new generation, unless the current financial crisis alters society drastically. Though, I do give thanks that my parents rode through their storms when we were young, and though my dad experienced a few lay offs, my parents managed to stick to paying off all the mortgages. Mortgages to a certain extent defines parenting and the discipline of finance management. Paying a mortgage myself, I appreciate my parents more for their commitment and sacrifices.

How about you? As a parent, have you gotten excited about acquiring more and more and taking extra commitments? I had many times wanted to acquire additional larger properties ... phew, glad I did not. Do share. One thing I commit to do on this blog is to make Tip/blog post 100 a contest with freebies sent to you from Japan. Every contestant gets one. So stay tuned. My commitment to put a smile on every reader here. Hope you can be contented with that.