There are a lot of moments in life that teach us the importance of money. Sometimes they teach us to look beyond money.
And sometimes they make us realise that, whether we like it or not, money matters a lot.
This was probably my first emotional lesson about money. I was generally known at home as the “understanding child” when it came to buying things.
In fact, my father’s favourite story about my childhood is one he still tells everyone. Apparently, when I was around three or four years old, he took me shopping for a dress. There was one I really liked, but it was beyond his budget at the time. He showed me another one and said, “We’ll buy this instead.”
And according to him, I simply replied, “Whatever you buy is fine with me”
I don’t remember saying that, but he remembers it vividly. I never really forced my parents to buy me anything.
Until one day.
This happened during my UG days. I wanted a new phone and asked my father if he could buy me one. He said, “Next time you come home, we’ll go buy it.”
That one sentence was enough. I spent the next few weeks excited, already imagining which phone I would buy. Then I went home. He quietly said, “Let’s do it next time. I’m a little tight on budget this week.”
Looking back now, it wasn’t even a big thing. But that particular day…I was so disappointed. I don’t know whether it was because I had built so much excitement in my head or because I was simply immature.
I just couldn’t think straight. I sulked. My parents didn’t worry much because they knew I’d eventually get over it. That afternoon my father came near me, trying to hug me. And I did something I still feel bad about. I brushed his hand away.
I told him, “You don’t love me as much as you say you do” and then I asked him not to talk to me. Even today I don’t know why those words came out of my mouth.
I still remember his face. He was genuinely hurt. Not angry.
Just… hurt.
After a few minutes he quietly said something that has stayed with me ever since.
“Such is the importance of money.”
“If you don’t have money, sometimes you can’t even prove to the people you love how much you love them.”
“For certain things, you need money just to show your love.”
I don’t think he even realised how deeply those words would stay with me.
Because in that moment I realised… It wasn’t about the phone anymore.
I had made someone who loved me beyond measure feel like he wasn’t enough.And that hurt him far more than not being able to buy me a phone at the moment.
The next morning, he changed his mind. He took me to a mobile shop and simply said,
“Buy whichever phone you want. There is no limit on budget.”
By then, I already felt guilty. But refusing would’ve only made him feel worse.
So I bought an HTC phone that cost around ₹30,000 because one of my friends had the same model and I liked it.
Now comes the ironic part of the story. After all that emotional drama…
The phone turned out to be a defective piece. Every other month it had some issue.
Service centre. Repair Again. Service centre.
And every single time I had to tell my father there was another problem, I felt guilty because of everything that had happened before buying it.
Somehow I survived with that phone for two or three years before finally getting rid of it.
Looking back now…
I don’t remember much about the phone.
But I remember that conversation word for word.
Maybe that’s how life works.
Things lose value.
Lessons don’t.
“Money cannot buy love. But sometimes, it gives us the chance to express the love we have.”
-Jahnavi Chowdary
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