Steemit Engagement Challenge S11/W3 - The first salary always remains extra special for me

Hey Steemian friends!

This is a trip back to the days my life was simpler, dreams were wilder, and that very first paycheck felt like a ticket to the moon! 🚀

👉 The first salary always remains extra special for me

“Ticket to the moon!” now, don't you go thinking I'm the only one who feels this way. I'm pretty sure that for everyone out there, that first paycheck is like a shiny badge of honor, satisfaction for ourselves and proof that we're all grown up and can contribute something valuable to this world basically a “Ticket to the moon!”

It's the year 2007, I'm just a 19 year Sri Lankan lad, and I find myself in the vibrant city of Singapore, starting to complete my training at a hotel. My first salary was Singapore dollar 500. We had an extra payment when we do night shift which added another $10 to the salary. And there it was, a call from HR, an envelope, crisp and official, containing my reward for my hard work of a month! I still remember how I got excited about that moment, let me share it with you in next question.

👉 What are you going to do when you get your first paycheck? (or) What did you do after you received your first paycheck?

And there I was holding my first salary the envelope with my name and the amount, a cool $620/-.The HR manager advises me to count it to ensure its correct. I cautiously open the envelope and seeing the money I suddenly forgot how to count! With a half-hearted nod I acknowledged that the amount is correct.

I quickly rush to the bathroom to recount. That sweet 620 Singapore dollar notes twinkling in my eyes! my first earnings!
Now, let's talk about what I did next, to be honest I had many dreams when I got my first salary. I wanted to get gifts for my family, I wanted to treat myself with some cloths and whatnots! Reality, though, had different plans.

That was the first time I went to a clothing store in Singapore. Then I quickly realized though my salary is a treasure to me, it is not a pot of gold. However, I spend about $100 on 02 trendy T shirts and a pair of shoes. Then I purchased silver ring and a bracelet for another $75. That was my first purchases from my salary. I can’t remember how quickly I spend the whole amount but I was broke before end of the month 🤕

👉 Does your income support your family other than yourself?

Nope, my father was earning well and they didn’t want any support from me. But they spend quite a lot of money to send me to Singapore for studies. So, I always wanted to pay back them. With a heart full of gratitude, I started saving money for that. However, I had to purchase a laptop for my studies and I had to spend my saving on that. Likewise certain priorities came in the way until now and was always just out of reach to pay them fully.

👉 Did you study to earn money or knowledge?

To be frank we were never taught how to earn money or money management! In that sense what we studied is a utter waste. Our education system didn't exactly prepare me for living in this modern world. My school years were all about soaking up knowledge, from history to languages to social studies. But the art of making money? I guess even teachers didn’t know that!

Earning money as a concept, only came to me while working. Thinking about how could I achieve various dreams in this rate of earning kind of feeling. The basic salary won’t let me get any where near to full filling the dreams I had. That’s the reason I spend time here and crypto trading markets. There I studies how to earn money, Investment strategies & risk management in order to get to what I want quickly.

👉 Is life all about earning a lot of money or something else?

Lif is definitely not about earning money! We invented money as a transaction method and we control it. Why we need money because this is a modern world and everything has a price tag in it. So as per my point of view money is essential to live happily, finding that sweet spot where you have enough to live comfortably is what we have to look for. That’s about it. For that we have to make sure certain amount of money flows in our way all the time. Otherwise, money will consume our happiness and forget all the good thing in life.

In conclusion, my friends, that first salary is our first step to being financial free in this world. Hence, it holds a very special place through out our life. I just shared my experience with you all today with a smile remembering that moment.

Thank you for this interesting contest @hindwhale. Looking forward to taking on the next week challenge. I would like to invite @carlaisl, @crisvera & @morgan76 to participate in this contest.

Thank you.

Peace to all 🙏

^{All the images have been developed by Midjourney / Dall E and photoshoped by me. Proper sourcing has been ensured for any other pictures used in the content.}