Article
Written and Researched by Zack Mwema….zaxmwema@gmail.com
About
five years ago, I learned the most important lesson about money and particularly debt
management. I did not learn it through getting a list of money management tips
or prudent debt management principles from Google or from any book, but I
learned the lessons practically. Handling money is by no means an easy job.
Money brings unto its possessor responsibility and a changed position with his
fellow men. It brings fear lest he lose it or it be tricked away from him. It
brings a feeling of power and ability to do well. Likewise, it brings opportunities
whereby a man’s very good intentions may bring him into difficulties. I was working in the small Rift Valley town
of Molo and I was also serving as Assistant Secretary of my local ACK , St
Albans Church Parish. My duty in church also meant that I could be entrusted
with Church money especially on a temporary basis. At one particular time, I
was holding Kshs 10,000 which was a contribution for one of the Church’s
projects. A friend of my father ( and by extension my friend ) called me, he
runs a small manufacturing company in Nairobi and had run out of cash to
complete a lucrative tender he had won. He only needed Kshs 10,000 and once he
had completed the process of manufacturing the goods, he would deliver them and
be paid in full. He promised me that he will pay me back within one week. Being
the good person that I am, I obliged and lent him the Church money that was in
my custody.
Come
the following week, he had not paid me, two weeks passed and no payment was
forthcoming. I went out of my way and borrowed money and refunded the Church’s money.
My friend never refunded the money even after two months and this action had
set me on a vicious cycle of debt. I now had to borrow again to repay the
friend I had borrowed. Later on, after I was debt free, I began considering the
consequences of my action and lots of questions lingered in my mind ; why did I
have to lend him the money , worse still, why did I have to lend money that did
not belong to me ? Must I help all the people who come to me and if yes, why do
they have to transfer their burdens to me? From this day on, I began to read books,
articles and blogs that talk about principles of proper money management .Perhaps
you have found yourself in similar circumstances, a friend or relative coming to
you to borrow money; you then go out of your way to lend him or her savings
which you have worked diligently to accumulate and have only remained in your
bank account because of your extra efforts to instill a savings discipline and
culture into yourself. After much convincing, you bow to the pressure and
decide to just help them - for the last time. Two months later, you are hit by
a financial issue, the friend never honored their part of the bargain and here
you are; being pressed by a financial need that must be sorted right now. You
know realize that what you did was to transfer the burdens from that person
unto yourself. So what do you do in such a case? In my bid to understand the
principles of prudent money management, I stumbled upon this story in George S Clason’s
book, the Richest Man in Babylon and I think it best describes the blunders most
of us make in our daily walk with money. Here goes the story which I have
paraphrased for ease of understanding.
There
was a farmer, who could understand what the animals which he kept in his farm
said to each other, One evening he did
hear the ox moaning to the ass the hardness of his lot: 'I do labor pulling the
plow from morning until night. No matter how hot the day or how tired my legs,
or how the bow doth chafe my neck, still must I work. But you are a creature of
leisure. You are trapped with a colorful blanket and do nothing more than carry
our master about where he wishes to go. When he goes nowhere you do rest and
eat the green grass all the day.' "Now the ass, in spite of his vicious
heels, was a goodly fellow and sympathized with the ox.’My good friend,' he
replied, 'you do work very hard and I would help ease your lot. Therefore, will
I tell you how you may have a day of rest? In the morning when the slave comes
to fetch you to the plow, lie upon the ground and bellow much that he may say
you are sick and cannot work.' "So the ox took the advice of the ass and
the next morning the slave returned to the farmer and told him the ox was sick
and could not pull the plow.” 'Then,' said the farmer, ‘hitch the ass to the
plow for the plowing must go on.' "All that day the ass, who had only
intended to help his friend, found himself compelled to do the ox's task. When
night came and he was released from the plow his heart was bitter and his legs
were weary and his neck was sore where the bow had chafed it. “The farmer
lingered in the barnyard to listen. "The ox began first. 'You are my good
friend. Because of your wise advice I have enjoyed a day off " 'And ,’
retorted the ass, 'am like many another simple-hearted one who starts to help a
friend and ends up by doing his task for him. Hereafter you draw your own plow,
for I did hear the master tell the slave to send for the butcher were you sick
again. 1 wish he would, for you are a lazy fellow.' Thereafter they spoke to
each other no more—this ended their friendship.
Can
you tell the moral to this tale" : If
you desire to help thy friend, do so in a way that will not bring thy friend's
burdens upon thyself."
I
have heard one of my close friends tell me; I don’t lend my friends money;
that’s a sure way of losing both. And I
can’t agree more. Finally, I learned the hard way that even when it comes to
helping my friends, relatives or colleagues, I will never do it in such a way
that my actions will transfer their burdens to me. My experiences have taught
me that most people forget as soon as you help them. Learn from the Ass and be
responsible with your financial actions.
Kindly visit my Blog; www.smartmoneymanagers.blogspot.com or my Face book page Stars Of the Future and lets share our
experiences about money as we march towards improving our money management
skills.
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