Money

Been thinking about what it means to be spoilt. And somehow realised that I've been fairly fortunate in the sense that when I was born, our family was fairly well off and I was given what I needed and more. Eventually when things didn't go so well, I started working part time, earning my pocket money etc. I remember days when I didn't have money to take the bus to school, other days when I only had $10 to spend on lunch for the entire week. But I also remember the days when I would blow $200-$300 on going out with friends, playing games at arcades and buying frivolous nonsense. All this before I turned 18.

Looking back at the past 10 years, I've learnt alot about the value of money. More importantly, I've realised the POWER of money. Money can do alot of things to people. It can drive people crazy. It can make people do desperate things.

Sure, money is nice to have, but ultimately, it can never buy you true happiness. Retail therapy can solve some problems, but the happiness is often just fleeting.

A problem I've realised in recent times is how I've gone back into trying to buy someone's love. I remember when I was a kid, I liked to spend money on my friends, because that made them automatically like me more. As I grew older, I always insisted on paying for dinner and drinks, it always seemed to make people appreciate me more. Whenever I'm in a relationship, I start lavishing gifts on the person I love. Recent events have made me realise that all this is futile and if someone likes you or loves you because you buy them pressies, they don't really like or love you for who you are.

So yes, it's always nice to spend money on the people you love, but I think I've finally decided not to do it so the person will love me more, but to do it because I love the person. I like to make the people I care about happy, so I will still continue buying them gifts. I've just realised that sometimes its not what you buy, but why you bought it that makes the difference.