Lesson From Grandpa

They are things that happen in our childhood that shape the adults we grow up to be. As a child, we might see these life lessons as wickedness, meaningless and hatred from those practicing them but as we grow and begin to understand, we begin to see the essence of those habits and why we should inculcate them.

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the topic was my grandfather's saving habit. My grandfather was a hard-working man, he works so hard to make sure his family sees daily bread. Upon his Providence, he was never relentless in saving. ​His belief was that once he has provided the natural foods like yams, garri, and other homemade foods. Anything beyond these essentials was considered too expensive.

Then if my grandma approached him with a request for money to buy fish or any othee things. He would say that anything else was an unnecessary expense. Hearing those words from him then made me feel he was stingy and wicked.

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While I thought he was being stingy, I didn't know he was only maintaining his financial discipline. His frugality extended to other aspects of his life. He does not give out money without any good reason. He often says that the true value of money was best understood when people found themselves penniless, having to labor hard for every single note they received. It was a hard-earned lesson that life taught him, and he was determined to instill the same wisdom in his family.

The only time a child can have a taste of his money is if that child had genuinely earned it. Being the only child around him, this usually meant running errands or performing tasks for him, and the reward comes very rarely. This was an unspoken agreement—earn your keep.

As a child, I thought my grandfather's habits were far from normal . I saw his frugality as nothing but stinginess, which made it difficult to see the wisdom behind it. It was meaningless to me.

With maturity came the realization that financial discipline and saving were critical life skills. My grandfather's belief that financial security is built on the pillar walls of hard work and consistent saving began to make sense to me. I understood that being excessive in spending wasn't a good habit.

His teachings led me to having that mindset of saving for rainy days. I was able to differentiate between needs and wants.

While I wouldn't say I have made it in life, the peace of mind I get knowing that I have a financial cushion to fall back on whenever everything looks gloomy is an achievement. This is a habit I learnt from my grandfather, the habit I interpreted to mean wickedness is something I now practice and view as a valuable lesson filled with wisdom.

My grandfather's belief that financial security is earned through hard work and careful saving rings in my mind. This lesson from my childhood serve as the pillar of my adult financial discipline.