Important Finance Lessons Our Son Should Understand Before We Say Yes to Buying an Electric Guitar.

Illustrated by: 

 

“Is it a Want or a Need?”

 

This was the question I had to ask my son, Reinel, when he was trying to convince me and his Dad about buying him a new electric guitar.

My child knows very well the family rules when it comes to buying things.

That’s why instead of directly answering my question, he simply gave  specifics  hoping to make his request acceptable….

 

“Mami, hindi ako maluho (I’m not extravagant) and I don’t buy gadgets often.”

“I do very well in school in fact wala na akong palakol,” (I don’t have grades below 80.) while showing his killer smile.  🙂�

“I consistently help you wash the dishes every night.”

“It will help me develop my social skills by joining the extracurricular activity at school.”

“And lastly, I need to have a new one to serve other Filipino youths through my music since you don’t want me to borrow one from my friends.”

 

After hearing my son’s short persuasive monologue, my brain started sending electric signals to wake up the maternal heart in me. But before it fully turned into a pusong mamon (soft-hearted), I needed to give him some finance lessons for better perspective on money.

1. Use whatever you have in serving God and people.

 

We believe God is so good that He doesn’t require us to do things more than what we are capable of. All he wants is to offer Him everything of what we have (resources, talents, time etc..) with sincere hearts.

The same principle applies when we serve people. We offer whatever is available and should not please others beyond our means.

That is why, we have to oppose our son’s idea that buying something new is a NEED to effectively provide service. Since he has already an acoustic guitar, I encourage him to use it instead for the meantime. Playing it would be as pleasing as using an electric guitar in God’s eyes.

 

2. Always discern between Needs and Wants before buying things.

 

The simplest way to identify one from the other is by asking yourself questions like:

Do I really need this thing or is it just an extra stuff?

Do I have an available substitute for this thing?

Can I delay buying this item?

Will buying this stuff affect my regular budget?

 

Need is something you cannot delay to have. It is connected to your survival whereas WANT is something that you can postpone buying. Moreover, the latter should be less prioritized at all times.

There’s nothing wrong in satisfying your want. However, the problem arises when you give more attention to your WANTS and wrongly perceive them as NEEDS because of the extreme desire to achieve them right away. This wrong perception often leads to inappropriate spending practices.

 

3. Learn to value every single amount you spend.

 

"Not clippings money abroad, work on that."

(You don’t just pick up money abroad, you work for it.)

As OFW parents, we believe that our child should develop the sense of responsibility in taking care of the things we provide him. Likewise, he must learn to be accountable to anything he borrows from other people.

Having this discipline teaches him to value every peso spent in buying an item and to respect others’ property as well.

 

4. Cultivate long term thinking

 

When Reinel suggested buying the instrument using his school allowance, I once again made him realize not to focus on short lived life’s pleasures.

It is not OK to spend all his allowance for one item and forget the expenses and uncertainties he will encounter in the future.

We want to inculcate in his young mind that impulsiveness in spending is caused by mismanagement of money and frequently results to creating bad debts.

 

Solution:

After weighing the situation, we understood having a new electric guitar would bring great joy to our unico hijo (only son).

We love pampering our son too.

However, we don’t want to risk his financial future by not understanding and practicing proper money management while he is still young.

That’s why after our family discussion, my husband and I both agreed to buy a new electric guitar in cash provided that Reinel will give a monthly installment payment to his Dad from his school allowance.

In this way, our son would appreciate the financial discipline we want him to develop while satisfying his request.

We are confident that it is not difficult for him to accept the decision.

He is very aware of the financial struggles our family had in the past and how we were able to surpass them.

As parents, we believe it is not the material things that we can provide our child matters most but our guidance to spare him from experiencing mistakes of the past.

Having the right mindset about money does not only help our family sustain life’s simplicity and debt-free living but it give us the privilege as well to serve, to value life and relationships above all.

 

Enjoy the benefits of knowing the real NEEDS for your family.