I am a very practical person, more so now that I am married with kids. I try to limit my spending to basic needs and things that my family must have (new shoes to replace worn out shoes, etc.) . This way I can somehow stretch our budget until the next payday.
We all have our own ideas and opinions, that's why I can't comprehend grand celebrations, new clothes, new accessories, new everything spending!
Who doesn't want NEW things? Of course I do LOVE NEW things! But sometimes I just have to stop somewhere before spending on anything I consider superfluous.
I was surprised when I learned of grand birthday celebrations for 7 year old boys. The old people (Southern custom = Southern Tagalog to further south custom) say that when your son reaches his 7th year, the parents must celebrate it with a handaan because the 7th year is the luckiest year for the boy and will serve as his lucky amulet, that sort of thing...
I was surprised to learn that the 7th birthday celebration for boys thing is not limited to the southerners, in fact a lot of Filipinos worldwide observe it!
But I want my kids to learn early on being practical and still enjoy being kids. So on their birthdays we take them somewhere to celebrate. Of course they sometimes wish for a party complete with balloons, cakes, spaghetti, ice cream, giveaways, and the pabitin but reality sinks before I overspend (whew!). We always try to console them that,"'having a party doesn't always guarantee better education in better schools. That they will have the best party that they will ever want if they can have better education and finish it. That they can party now but what about tomorrow?'" I know we shouldn't be putting too much "pressure" or "heavy thoughts" on them but I want them to learn early, so one day they'll stand on their own with no hesitations.
