Me, rich?! Never!!

It took me some time (probably due to years of brainwashing)...but I've eventually arrived at the realization that;

Rich is not synonymous with evil!! *gasp*

In fact there is nothing wrong with being rich.  Getting rich by fraudulent means, perhaps; being rich and evading taxes- questionable; being rich and thinking you are better than others- definitely!!

But being rich itself is not a bad thing.

There are several people who have used their riches to help empower others. "Empower" being the key word since handouts equals slavery insurance..

So, somewhere in Half Way Tree, Kingston while slushing it through street city mud to fight my way into an illegal taxi; the obnoxious driver of which ordered me to "come outta mi car nuh woman!!!"- I decided I wanted to be rich.

Just imagine this is the only means of transportation for most people. At this particular point, it was an option for me.

The demure, prudent chant most of my life was: "I don't want to be rich, I want to be comfortable".  It was repeated in school and reinforced in church. Sigh. Why, why do I always end up talking abt church. Sigh. My poor therapist. ..

Same people who, by the way, were 'comfortable' enough to have SUV's but not well-off enough to help someone with groceries for sunday dinner - not a hypothetical scenario.

Somehow, somewhere that religious environment encouraged this twisted belief. No shocker. Oh right! That bible verse. The one about it being "hard for a rich man to enter heaven". Ah!!

 That and some choice  adjectives just seemed inextricably linked. Eg. Rich fool, evil rich man, selfish rich person etc. So. The loaded language promoted that line of thinking.

Well newsflash false humility bearers!! To be comfortable in a third world country, you kinda gotta be rich.

There were no rich people in church. Oh sure, they drove cars and lived in nice homes had kids in prep school and enjoyed annual vacations, but they were all up to their eyeballs in debt!

Their highly paid salaries competed with mortgages, car payments, credit card payments as they struggled along in financial mediocrity.

I called my sister one morning after hustling by public transportation to Kingston, late for class and too tired and traumatised from the trip to catch what was left of it...

"Paula, you were right, not only is poverty a lack of bare necessities but a state of indignity."

Transportation is one form of this imposed indignity. If I start on healthcare I will weep.

After my son underwent successful ENT surgery at one of the country's private hospitals, I solidified my resolve to acquire wealth (ooh felt dirty writing that. Smh). The surgery cost Ja$267,000 . No matter what country you're from or what currency you are accustomed to, it is a huge sum. ..way above our means.

My father whom I owe a million apologies for elevating to monster status due to his riches had with little prompting and no hesitation, written the cheque.

Another deeply psychological factor in my aversion to money had to do with his financial success with coincided with my parents' divorce. And, as unrelated variables usually are, his acquiring wealth was engraved as causation for my parents' spilt in our family forever.

I cannot begin to express (again..) how important it is for human beings to think for themselves. I think with remorse of all the financial advice I ignored from my dad merely because he said it...

Wealth is not what you drive or how luxurious your house is, daddy would say... Its a balance between how much you owe and how many years of slavery would pay off ur bills.
With a wag of his calloused, hard working finger he warned me against loans of ANY kind.... Not even hire purchase at the country's most popular furniture/appliance store - Courts.
 My dad despised loans.

I have come 360 degrees in finally accepting the advice of my dad. At 28, I was married, had a toddler, lived in a roadside apt, had a grad school loan, 2 credit card loans and a hire purchase loan from Courts plus no job!!!

Have I learnt my lesson?

Well, I've paid off one credit card while making significant dents in another, I now have a stable savings plan and a college fund for my three year old.

Most importantly, I have a wealth plan. Its an intricate individualized financial scheme (sounds sinister, doesn't it?) tailored to my goals and income.

I qualify for an NHT loan, but will resist. I've never relished bondage and $19,000 every month for the next 40 years for a mediocre dwelling sounds like just that. Ugh! 

I have plans: Eeek!

To start my own businesses (yes, several). Online or face to face, owning a business appears to be a fast way out of the cyclic rat race and into financial independence and freedom.

Wanting to be rich is not necessarily a dirty, selfish ambition as I previously, haughtily assumed. It's a logical methodological decision to be in a position to actually do things and help people, not just to yap about it.

Hopefully I'll help to empower other females with this lowly blog.

Instead of living within my means, I've decided how I would like to live and I am working towards the means to afford that lifestyle. - SB

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