Can I have an allowance please?

I believe that we learn something new every day, from a small and trivial things to something that's potentially life changing.

Something hit me hard last week.

I was checking my school email as usual, when I realised that my friend has included me in a mailing list, in which he asked whether we wanted to eat at No Signboard Seafood Restaurant located at Esplanade. Didn't really want to go so I never replied his email, but it turned out that on the day of the dinner, he smsed me saying that he has booked a place for me. Oh well, I thought, so I decided to tag along.

Met them at school first and we made our way through CityLink mall and towards Esplanade. I had no idea what kind of restaurant this is, but according to my friend, its quite a fancy and a little bit expensive. Since we weren't celebrating anything, when I heard that it was a little bit expensive, I felt quite hesitant. I mean, why waste money on some dinner on a regular dinner gathering? Though, after being assured that it would not be that costly, I just kept my reluctance to myself.

As we were approaching our destination, I saw a bright light from afar. That bright light turned out to be our restaurant and boy, wasn't it fancy. It was during dining hour and the place was filled with many people, mostly working age adults who seemed to be having a corporate dinner with their colleagues. On another table, a family is celebrating their grand father's birthday. Just nearby, a couple is having a nice dinner together, probably to celebrate their anniversary. They have certainly chose a great place to commemorate their happy occasions, because this place is one of those high end Chinese restaurant where the waiter keeps bringing dishes after dishes every few minutes, just like what you normally have at wedding banquets.

Some people just simply does not have a common sense.

Of course, my initial thought was, "What the ef. Little bit expensive my foot." and my worries were confirmed when I looked at the price in the menu. Five Hundred and Eighty Nine Dollars. $589. Five eight nine for 10 dishes which includes shark fin, crabs, and many delicious dishes. There were 8 of us so if we split the bill, each of us would be paying around $74 before tax.

Are they out of their minds?

Sadly, too late to escape as we have settled down, so I had no choice but to participate in this hedonistic, ridiculously expensive and absolutely unnecessary dinner. The food was delicious, as expected, and we paid $85 each and left the place.

Some people just don't understand the value of money at all. For some, a dollar is just a dollar, ten dollars is just ten dollars, and a hundred dollars is just a hundred dollars. "What's the big deal?", they say. "When else can you have the chance to eat good food like this?" "Come on, it's just once in a while!". "For the quality we had, it's worth the money!"

Yeah sure, the food was very nice and definitely, it was money well spent. True, I had not eaten good food in a long time and it was indeed once in a while. Surely, the $85 I spent can be justified?

Wrong. They are so wrong that they are forgetting something.

You see, I don't really mind spending money from time to time. Afterall, I am a food lover and I would like to eat all the good food around the world some day. The Japanese food I enjoy so much costs quite a sum if I were to eat a good one here. But hey, listen, you must remember one thing;

Where do you think the money come from?

I am lucky to have parents who give me allowances at the beginning of each month. With this money, I get to go out with friends, eat food that I like, go to places I like, and buy things that I want to buy from time to time. It's a sum of money that's quite important for my life as a young adult, a sum of money that I can use to give myself enjoyment and relaxation. However, you must remember that this money didn't grow from the trees. Nor did it magically appear and your parents happend to picked it up.

The allowance you get from your parents are their sweat, hardship and trouble that they go through each day when they wake up early in the morning and come home late from the office. Your allowance comes from their wages, after enduring a hard day at work, for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and 30 days a month.

Ask yourself now.

Who pays for the clothes you wear everyday? Who pays for the hairstyles that you have on your head? Who pays for that McDonald's take away you call whenever you feel hungry? Who pays for the fun outings you have with your friends? Who pays for the water you drink, the tv you watch, the computer you use, the bed you sleep on, and the house you live in? Who pays for your school fee, your medical fee, bus fare, breakfast, lunch, dinner, newspaper and everything else that you call yourself "mine"?

Respect your parents. I mean seriously, give them the respect they deserve. Just imagine how much they have spent on you ever since you are born. Just think about how much of their hard earned money have been spent on raising you? If they never had you, trust me, they would be far better off than now. They have given us so much, yet they still gives us allowances at the beginning of each month, for us to spend on more things that we want.

Let me make myself clear. Allowance is not a right, but a privilege. You don't have a "right" to get allowance from your parents. It is not a duty of parents to give their child pocket money. It is their generosity in sharing what they earn so painstakingly, as a token of their love for their children. It is a money you do not deserve, yet we often forget that fact and take it for granted. I mean, how can we spend our money irresponsibly when our parents are trying so hard to save up for our future? How can we enjoy a lifestyle, that even our parents do not get the chance to enjoy? Is this fair?

Look, I am not saying that you all should stop spending your money. Nor I am saying that you should stop eating nice food, or ordering take aways. I mean, these are important things that's part of growing up. All I am asking is to always remember where your money came from, and most importantly, learn to value your money. By value your money, I do not mean to say that a dollar is a dollar and a hundred dollars is a hundred dollars. By value your money, I mean to say that you must always be thankful of your parent's hardwork and generosity, to respect them for the hardship they are going through each day to put that 10 dollar note in your wallet. Honestly, that dinner was a wake up call for me. It is just not fair for me to spend irresponsibly and enjoying life, while my parents are working hard in the office.

I really regret what I have done in the past, from spending a lot of money on games, excessive eating, and other things that the money is not deserved to be spent on. Well, money spent is money gone, and no one can change that fact, so the best way forward is to change how I am spending my money. Afterall, if you finally realise your mistake from looking at your past, somewhat, the money in the past was well spent, wasn't it?

Once you earn your own wages through your own hardwork, you are free to use the money however you want to use it. You are free to eat food you want to eat, buy clothes you want to wear and buy a car you want to ride. You deserve it. But remember to give some back to your parents too, afterall, they chose you over great food, fancy clothes and nice car. Let's work hard to find a good job, and one day, we can give back what our parents deserve.