Financial Independence ....

My mum gave me a big scolding the other day as she found out about the joint account which my ex and I had. Actually, my second ex and I opened that account when we were thinking of flat-hunting. The money is actually mine; he had never contributed as he just started working then. But when we ended things, he withdrew his “due” for the years together.

After a while, I removed his name since I was the one holding on to the passbook. But a joint account cannot be reverted back to a single account, especially since I already have another savings account in the same bank. This “joint” account is actually a chequing account where all my ad-hoc payment transactions are done.

Since to close it means it would render all my cheque payments invalid, and when that happens, I would have to take the trouble of opening another chequing account somewhere else, and the other banks do not open chequing accounts with a deposit of less than a few thousand dollars, my third ex agreed to help me out by just putting his name down so my account can remain active.

So he was only the account holder in name; all the money inside belongs to me. He has never contributed nor touched a single cent there. I am the one holding on to the passbook and chequebook. The person entitled to sign all the cheques is me, not anybody else.

It is useless explaining to my mum why this account is “joint” as she already has her own conclusions that my third ex was living off me. Which is not true, because of all my guys, he is the one that has never asked me to pay for anything nor taken a cent from me when we broke up.

But my mum kept scolding me for being so cheap and desperate that I had to use my money to hold on to a guy, so no wonder the guys I was with all lost respect for me. It is alright how she wants to think of me since she never really think of me as someone good anyway, but leave others out of this.

She said up to now my dad and her still holds separate accounts, so why did I want to do that in the first place? It is up to her how she and my father want to settle things, but must she bother about my finances? It is not as if I am living off her.

I have not taken a single cent from her ever since I entered NIE, unlike my brothers who still live off her for everything, from the clothes they wear to their school fees to their mobile bills to their transport expenses to their outings with friends. When did I ever have it so easy when I was their ages?

Whatever money I have in my accounts is solely mine! My own keep, my own income and savings through the years of working. Not a single cent belongs to her or anyone else for that matter. And I still give her red packets during Chinese New Year as well as a certain amount every month.

She always thinks I spend more than I earn, which is not really true. No doubt I used to spend a bit more when I first started working, but almost everyone I know is like that. After all, when one suddenly has disposable income at one’s own disposal, one tends to indulge a little. But not so now. How many things do you need anyway? There comes a stage when I do not even go shopping unless I really have things to buy.

Anyway my mum said she can save a few thousands every month and I cannot seem to do that. Of course! Compared to the amount she is earning and the amount I am earning, she can save a few thousands every month and still have more money to spend than me. From the amount I am earning, it is already a struggle to even save a couple of thousands per month.

But it does not matter. I am not using her money, so I need not explain how I manage my own finances. Everything from my course fees to my clothes to my bills and other activities are all my own moolah. It is good to be financially independent!