Every Centavo Counts
by Oliver Carlos
I am a pure-blooded Ilocano. My great grandparents from my father side were from San Jacinto, Pangasinan and Gerona, Tarlac. My great grandparents from my mother side were from Asingan and Aguilar, these are towns in Pangasinan. Thus, I am a G.I., or genuine Ilocano, 100% thru and thru.
One running joke about us Ilocanos is that we are extremely thrifty. The word “thrifty” may be an understatement; “stingy” would be the more appropriate term. Some people may think that we will be angry if we would hear the word “kuripot” to refer to us, but actually, most of us Ilocanos wouldn’t mind. We’re used to hearing it from other people. We just take it positively, while some Ilocanos are even proud of it.
I had an Ilocano teacher in college who explained why we behave such. He said that in the Ilocos region, the land isn’t very fertile and there’s less rain unlike in South Luzon. There’s just one planting season in a year, but elsewhere in the country, farmers plant and harvest rice twice a year. So, when an Ilocano gets money from his farm, he keeps it in a closed fist for one whole year, because he knows that the next time he’ll have money is a long time away. Meanwhile, the South and Central Luzonian farmers would get their hands replenished with money in just 6 months.
One Ilocano habit I have is collecting coins I see by the roadside. When walking, I stop and stoop down to pick up 5 centavo, 10 centavo, and 25 centavo coins whenever I see one along my way. I have 3 piggy banks (alkansya) at home where I drop them, one alkansiya for each type of coin. Every year end, I open the piggy banks, package the coins, and buy any little item I wish to buy. One time I was able to buy NBA uniforms from my coin savings. These are an athlete’s coveted merchandise and I got them from technically nothing, I literally picked them up from the ground.
I am not saying that you should be thrifty to the extreme level, but I find great wisdom in being prudent with our expenses and saving for the lean months. These are Biblical virtues. The Book of Proverbs is full of verses that encourage its readers to be wise in terms of money matters. One example is Proverbs 30:24–25 (NIV):
“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise:
Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer”
Look at the ant, a seemingly negligible creature, but is a source of a great life lesson. The Bible considers the ant as one of the wisest animals because it stores up its food to last the winter months. Little by little, often unnoticed, bits of food are gathered by the ants and placed in their dwelling places.
Rather than spending on impulsive buying, or unnecessary stuff, try saving money in a bank or investing in some profitable venture. That’s being wise with your money. Banks were already existing in Jesus’ time. He mentioned it in the Parable of the Talents. While berating the lazy servant, he said in Matthew 25:27 (NIV):
“Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.”
We have to be good stewards with the riches and opportunities given us. If we are, we will be greatly rewarded in the future. Don’t be wasteful in your buying habits. Don’t feel small if people will look down on you for not being elegant and flashy in the world’s standard. Remember the ants, they’re small and looked down as being weak, but later on they would be enjoying the fruits of their labor and their prudence.
