2 years ago, my grandmother gave me with an unusual birthday gift. She gave me a pension plan that I have to pay for 10 years which I can claim after 20 years.
At that time, I was pissed at the gift because it meant more bills, even if it was a savings plan. More importantly, I was not going to retire by 43, so i did not know what to use the money for. It is too small for an actual retirement. With inflation for the next twenty years, I was thinking that the money would probably go to Manolo Blahnik stilletos or a Chanel tote.
That was depressing. I was already losing money in the present, I might lose more money in the future.
When the baby came, I finally found a use for that money. I am thinking that even with inflation, that money can still fund my daughter’s college education 17 years from now (main assumption is she will go to UP or on scholarship abroad, in that case the money will be her start up fund).
Instead of grudgingly paying it off as another bill, Pong (my partner) and i will happily line up tomorrow, save up for the baby’s future. We might have to tighten up our allowances this month, but we suffered through worse for far less significant reasons.
This time we have a plan. The price is significant for us. It will cost us some comforts for the month. But it is worth it.
