While growing up, my parents got into a lot of debt. This isn't me trying to shame them or anything. I respect them for what they did. Getting into honest debt is a lot better than stealing public funds, and stealing public funds is the order of the day in these parts.
They had numerous opportunities to do it but they didn't. For the most part, I can vouch for them.
When you have 8 kids and some relatives dependent on you, I don't see how a monthly payment will ever be enough. They had fees to pay, clothes to buy, food to provide and random needs that needed to be met every single day. The crazy part is, we never lacked anything we were supposed to have.
Debt saved my childhood, I guess. I don't have to be told, I know. While I currently hate the thought of being in debt and I'm constantly scared of making demands because I fear there might be returns that I won't be able to meet up with and then I would be brought to shame, my parents have tough skin to it.
My mother constantly says "I'm not afraid to owe" and while I hate that she says that, I know she's not afraid because of how much debt they've owed in their lifetime and how much they've been able to pay back, some with outrageous interests.
Sometimes, I ungratefully say they did all that just to fit into a lifestyle they couldn't afford, and yeah to an extent I'm right, but in the end, they made it work out.
As a kid, I was always considered the rich kid in class. For the most part, it was due to my complexion and the way I speak, but it was also due to the amount of care I received.
I remember speaking to a classmate I had in primary school and she told me how she envied me when we were little because I always got a new uniform every year and sometimes I changed my school bag and lunch box every term. My parents got in debt to provide me with those kinds of privileges.
While I don't have such a memory of myself, I do remember my mother putting in a lot of effort to make sure I stayed clean. And I respected her efforts by not being a dirty child. My uniform would never have a tear caused by a fight and my stockings never got dirty unless it was a mistake.
Sorry to digress, I'm writing about debt.
My parents never got into debt often for irrelevant things. I know that while raising all 8 of us they still made the effort to have real estate investments. They purchased plots of lands that were paid for over long periods but they still owned.
Thinking about it now, they hardly got into debts for unreasonable reasons. I guess I'm writing this to justify my next judgemental statement, but it's my story and I choose my angle.
Where I come from, people are poor. I'm not saying this to bring down their efforts or any of that. They really are poor.
I got into the civil service system slightly a few years back. I got into conversations with a lot of people and I got to know more about how the system worked. They don't earn that much but they spend like thieves.
Outsiders come in and think there's a lot of money flowing around. You'd see the cars, the expensive unattractive clothing and it gets you thinking you're up to something wrong coz you can't afford that.
Truth is, every boutique owner either has a side job bringing in monthly funds to offset the debts they incur or they close down.
Most people can't afford the lifestyle they portray. But they wear it proudly.
They're a lot like my mother "they aren't afraid to owe".
I'm probably not getting my perspective accurately, because of where I am at the moment and maybe when I get older I'll understand. Maybe. Maybe I haven't gotten to the age where making an expensive appearance is a lot more important than what the figures in my account say. Maybe I'll get there when I get married and my presence is required at places I would rather not be but are important to my significant other. Maybe. I'm not much in a hurry to find out.
However, I understand how debt works here. This is why I'm selective of the physical business I'm deciding to venture into. I know I won't avoid it entirely but I'll do the best I can with the knowledge I have. I'm not like my mother, I'm afraid to owe. I don't have a certain source of income at the moment so I have a lot at stake if I get into an unhealthy debt.
I know this because I've been in an unhealthy debt before and I hated how it felt being called and reminded of how much I owed.
How does debt work where you come from?
Thanks for reading!
@kmama