Money, wealth, life, death and the future

Sometimes, I feel the urge to pass on some of the wisdomw I've acquired over the years. As I sometimes do, I was thinking about my Dad earlier. The reason? I was walking past his old MacMetals workshop in Mill Hill and I saw the guy who runs the garage now had a shiny red Corvette in for work. Dad was what one may have  labelled a petrolhead, before the term became used. He once told me that one of the reasons he started a car repair business was so that he could drive all the best sports cars at top speed, without the cost of buying them. Often the real owners would turn up enraged with a speeding ticket, weeks later. Dad would say "One of my blokes must've taken it for a test drive" and sign a letter to the Police, saying he had no record of who. He'd then tell the driver that it would unprofessional and irresponsible to release a fixed car back to the owner without giving it a proper run, to ensure everything was done properly. He'd point out that high performance cars were built to be driven quickly and if they weren't tested at speed, then there was a risk that a loose nut or other such thing may cause a terrible crash, so it was important to test them and check them. The owners would go home reassurred and happy. Dad joined the RAF because he wanted to see the world and fly planes. They paid him to fulfil his dreams. I once asked him if he had any regrets. He said "Yeah, I never won the pools".

He had a lot of wisdom when it came to money, wisdom that informed my life choices. He believed money was to be enjoyed, what was the point being rich if you didn't spend your money. But his view so long as you paid the bills, you should enjoy your cash. He'd often say little nuggets of wisdom. One example that I didn't understand properly at the time was "If you've got £100 in your pocket, it might save your life, if you have a million £'s in the bank, it might just cost it". It is worth noting that this was before the days when we tapped a bank card for everything and it took time and effort to retreive funds from the bank. Dad explained that you should always keep some cash about your person and not all in your wallet, when you are travelling. It doesn't matter how much money is in the bank, if you need it now, have some cash. In many ways, his message lost it's meaning as we can now tap a card for a cab etc, but the point is, if you need money and it is unavailable it is no use at all.

Another thing he'd often say to me was that no one loves you for your money. Again, this goes against the received wisdom of the day. What he was saying was that if someone is interested in you because you are rich, they are not interested in you and won't make you happy. If someone simply wants your money, love doesn't come into it. I was reminded about this by the recent Oasis reunion, where the rumours are that the band reformed to pay for an expensive divorce settlement. When I was a teenager, I worked as a painter/decorator for a couple of years. I worked on a lot of rich people's houses. Usually, the man was out working and the woman was stuck at home, bored and miserable. Working in people's homes is interesting, as they forget you are there. You see and hear all sorts of things, some of which I found very shocking. I'm more worldy wise now, but even so, I couldn't help but be cynical about why people marry rich people after that. 

One of the oddest things he said in regards to money was "Every second you spend counting your cash is a wasted moment you'll never get back". When you are young, you have no concept that time is running out. My Dad passed away when he was only seven years older than I am now. Due to my mums prudent management of money, he was well off. He told me that in some ways, this troubled him. He said that when you can really enjoy your cash, you don't have enough of it. My Dad's view was that everyone who had spent a life working hard, should have more than enough money to be comfortable later in life. At the moment, there is a huge political row about winter fuel payments. It is tragic that it seems there are people who have worked hard all of their life and they don't have cash to see them through. The UK is far richer than when my Dad was alive, he died in 1987. However this has not translated into financial security. Every year it seems that ever more safety nets are pulled from under us. Where is all this cash that the country has generated gone? The answer is pretty simple. It's called inequality. A small group of people in the country are infinitely more wealthy than ever. Most of us in the middle are just about getting by. The people at the bottom are in dire financial straits. 

I was reading in the paper this morning that following a campaign by Esther Rantzen, MP's will be given a free vote on passing laws to allow euthenasia. I wonder how long it will be before people start using it to escape poverty, once people get used to the idea. When elderly relatives start to experience dementia and it is clear that care costs will eat up the inheritence of children, I do wonder what pressure will be brought to bear on parents to 'do the right thing by the kids'. I look back on my Dad's views on cash. He died aged 69 in reasonable health. 

Me? I'm 62. Only God knows what the future holds. What finacial legacy will I pass on to my kids. If I drop dead tonight, a pretty good one. If I live until I'm 100 and spend a decade in care, then probably nothing. Maybe I should've just let nature take it's course last year when I had an op for my prostate cancer. I'd have done them all a favour financially. I wonder if they'd see it like that? Perhaps I should have asked them. The longer you live, the more cynical you get.