Wealth Comes From Struggle

            There are lots of struggles that every person experience in life and absolutely money is always on the list. My family experienced that also before. It was when I was in second year college when my father stopped working due to company issues. It was then when we felt how hard it was to live in a day to day basis, it was during those times when I needed to strive harder in my studies to be a consistent scholar. It was then when I promised to myself that someday, I will be financially independent.

It has been almost five years now since I started working as an IT professional, and  almost five years since I carry the responsibility of being the breadwinner in my family. I confess, at first it was really hard. There are times when I cry and asks Him “Why do I need to experience this? Why can’t I live the kind of life that my other friends are living? Why am I carrying this kind of responsibility?”, but I realized that those were the times that I’m being selfish, that I am being disobedient. I forgot that everything happens for a reason and that He will never leave me nor forsake me that is why it came to a point when I finally listened to Him and that’s when I realized that what I’m experiencing right now is a blessing from the Him.

            I know that I am not the only person who experiences this kind of blessing, that’s why I made a list of the reasons why you should be grateful for being the breadwinner:

1. You’ll develop a habit of giving

Yes, it’s one of the obvious reasons why it’s a blessing to be the breadwinner in your family. You’ll learn to give without expecting anything in return. It’s a habit that you’ll never regret doing.

2.  It is a preparation for you on your future family

It’s a preparation in a sense that you’ll be a good provider someday certainly because you have been used to provide for your family for the longest time so when the time comes that you have to build your own family, you would not feel the pressure of handling the finances.

3. You’ll learn how to handle your finances wisely

It’s one of the best blessing I ever experienced. For me, even if you are the breadwinner in your family, it should not prevent you from PAYING YOURSELF FIRST. That’s what I realized the first year as a working professional, that I should learn how to invest as early as possible. That I should always think of the future. From then on, it has become my advocacy, to inspire more people to always believe in the power of delayed gratification by investing now and reaping the fruits later and that they should not be blinded by the temporary pleasures this world has to offer.

4. It will teach you the pleasures of simple living

It pays great to simplify your living. Being the breadwinner teaches me to live below my earning capacity so that I could save more and multiply my money through investments. I have learned to appreciate the real value of money and that you can always benefit from the simple things in life. It would teach you the real essence of existence that it’s never the material things that would make you happy but it’s the pleasure you get when you see your family living a comfortable life. 

5. A PRIVILEGE to be a channel of BLESSINGS to your family

As I have mentioned earlier, being the breadwinner is a blessing from the Lord. And since the Lord is blessing me certainly my family receives those blessings as well. I will always be thankful for this privilege that the Lord provided me as I won’t be the person I am today if that never happened to me.

So that’s my list! I hope that someday, others would learn from my experience and that they would be inspired to build their wealth as early as they can. I’m hoping also that other breadwinners will be grateful as well with such privilege that our Lord has blessed them and that they would take advantage of such situation in their lives like what John Bunyan said “You have never really lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you” :)