Payday
I’ve gotten into this habit of thinking what I can look forward to first thing I wake up in the morning. I found that if I’m excited about something, it’s easier for me to toss the blanket and get ready for work.
Today is payday, (I am obligated to put a hurrah right here so…YEHEY!) Now that’s something to brighten anyone’s day, right? So how come I don’t feel the usual euphoria that I would normally get at the mere thought?
Mulling over it over my first cup of tea at my desk, I realize it was because I no longer keep any cash in my wallet. I have direct deposit set up, so my company deposits my pay directly to my checking account. That way, as soon as the funds are available, I can issue checks to pay off my bills. And boy do I have lots of bills! There’s my mortgage and my credit card bills. I have 7 credit cards which I use for grocery shopping and to pay my utilities. In other words, no actual money goes through my hands. I don’t need to paper clip hundred-peso bills together and label what they are for.
That’s when the light bulb went on. I miss having cold hard cash! When I was back home, I remember going to the ATM as soon as we knew that the payroll funds were available. My co-workers and I would stand patiently outside the ATM booth under the hot noon sun. Isn’t it amazing how the process works? All you have to do is insert a little plastic card and voila, the machine spits out money - colorful little bills that tell you that you can go shopping later. Here, you can go shopping whenever you want as long as you haven’t maxed out your credit cards. It eliminated the anticipation aspect. You no longer have to wait till the 1st or the 15th of the month to buy something. No wonder people here have very low emotional quotient. It’s similar to the tv ad where the kids were told that if they waited 30 minutes, they can have two marshmallows instead of one if they ate now. The downside of having a credit card is simply that. You only get one marshmallow because you didn’t wait. The giddy, happy feeling is not as intense as when you waited and saved. Then when you’re able to buy your most coveted item, it makes the wait worthwhile.
