Present or Future?

Someone from an insurance company explained to me some stuffs about investments and all that last Thursday. When I saw the estimated figures that I would be earning when I reached 30, I thought, ‘hey, this is interesting’. I may be shooting two birds with one stone: having a life insurance and at the same time, an investment. But then again, I’ve realized something.

Sinabi ko sa nanay ko na I am interested with the insurance, and that I am willing to apply for one. I already expected a violent reaction from my mother, since she herself had been fooled before. She applied for a plan, and now the company is on its brink of bankruptcy or something. Pero she just told me to compute my total expenses and the money left in my wallet at the end of every month. Doon ko nalaman na I am not fit to do this insurance/investment thing.

Mas narealize ko na hindi ako pwedeng mag-invest on things like this, since naka-budget na lahat ng earnings ko. I have no plans on getting myself into some training that will teach me how to save money, and then at the end of the seminar would force me to sell real estates and stuff, which may increase my income. I am not sure if I am ready for this stuff – this investment thing.

But then I told myself, when will I be ready? Kung tama yung sinabi sa akin noong nag-ooffer ng insurance/investment, this is the right time for me to start thinking about my future, and investing some funds. Pero naisip ko, if I am going to put some of my money on this, hindi na ako makakapunta sa mall whenever I wanted to, hindi na ako makakakain sa labas together with my family, at hindi na ako makakagastos sa mga bagay na gusto kong bilhin. Not with my present income. I imagine a life with no expenses: a very financially-restricted life that I don’t think e magagawa ko. I know that someday I will be financially restricted. Kapag nagkaroon ako ng family, all of my expenses would go to them, and I wouldn’t get anything for myself. Well by that time I will understand the circumstances, since I expect myself to mature by then. Pero kung ita-time/space warp ko ang future kong iyon papunta sa present, where I am not yet mature and ready, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I still have lots of stuffs to buy. I still have lots of places to go to. I still have lots of things to do. So I have decided that it is not yet my time to buy myself an insurance/investment. Maybe someday, but not today.

I know this is a very immature post for some of you whose life is already planned out. Yeah, thinking of the present instead of the future is a bit immature. Wala akong justification for acting like that, pero ang masasabi ko lang is that I don’t want to follow the footsteps of someone that made my life a bit complicated. Not miserable, but complicated. More on that later.