Many years ago, Private Eye, the UK satirical magazine featured an amusing cartoon where a mother was explaining to her young child how a piggy bank worked. The mother explained that to get money out of a piggy bank, you first have to put money in. When the child objected to putting money into the piggy bank the mother replied “but darling, this is a real bank”.
Another user of the word “real” was the TV and film character Ali G, a fictitious rapper, played by the very talented comedian, Sacha Baron Cohen, who initiated a witty catch phrase “keep it real”.
Real, as in reality and realise are words that have eluded many of us in recent years.
Right now in the UK (and just about everywhere else) reality has kicked in with a frightening thud.
Years ago, both my parents and grandparents lived in the real world of pay as you go. My lovely departed Grandmother would remind me in my young years “pay as you go: if you can’t pay, you can’t go”.
As this recession begins to hurt even more, we would do well to reflect how our grandparents lived in the good old days of no credit cards, no loans, very few mortgages (as everybody rented) and no embarrassing letters from the bank or finance company.
I recently made a TV programme on debt management (I can send the web link or DVD if you would like a copy) and the interviewer was somewhat surprised to hear me give lessons on how to save money.
The only money that counts at the moment is cash, or real money.
The problem for some people in this current climate is that they are genuinely flummoxed about money management. They seemed to have lived a life of card swiping and funds transfer, with very little, if any, contact with actual real money.
As we journey along this recession, it is worth bearing in mind the silly cartoon about the piggy bank, only it is not a joke and the money in the piggy bank is real.
Another user of the word “real” was the TV and film character Ali G, a fictitious rapper, played by the very talented comedian, Sacha Baron Cohen, who initiated a witty catch phrase “keep it real”.
Real, as in reality and realise are words that have eluded many of us in recent years.
Right now in the UK (and just about everywhere else) reality has kicked in with a frightening thud.
Years ago, both my parents and grandparents lived in the real world of pay as you go. My lovely departed Grandmother would remind me in my young years “pay as you go: if you can’t pay, you can’t go”.
As this recession begins to hurt even more, we would do well to reflect how our grandparents lived in the good old days of no credit cards, no loans, very few mortgages (as everybody rented) and no embarrassing letters from the bank or finance company.
I recently made a TV programme on debt management (I can send the web link or DVD if you would like a copy) and the interviewer was somewhat surprised to hear me give lessons on how to save money.
The only money that counts at the moment is cash, or real money.
The problem for some people in this current climate is that they are genuinely flummoxed about money management. They seemed to have lived a life of card swiping and funds transfer, with very little, if any, contact with actual real money.
As we journey along this recession, it is worth bearing in mind the silly cartoon about the piggy bank, only it is not a joke and the money in the piggy bank is real.
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