The 3 Report Books of Life

I made a boo-boo this week..

I thought I had re-connected with a primary school classmate from the school alumni’s Facebook page..

Then as we conversed back and forth over messenger, a lot of stuff that we recalled didn’t seem to match, so I went to dig out my old school report book (Yes! I kept it for 31 years ;p) and it turned out that we were actually in different classes!

Nevertheless, we still ended our conversation on a good note even with the boo-boo, and I sat there holding my report book. It dawned on me that..

We all needed Report Books to show our progress in life.. You see, when my kids were at their infant stages up till now, their respective #1 Health Report Book was like the most important document I could possibly hold for them up until primary school age – all those measurements about height and weight, and immunisation records to make sure they are growing well and protected with the vaccines.

Now that one of them is at primary school age, with the younger one joining the elder one soon, the focus on their lives shifts to their #2 School Report Book – why wouldn’t any parent want his or her child to score good results in school? So, the School Report Book most likely followed us all the way up until adulthood..

And now that we are in our respective careers, do you realise that our #3 Credit Report (Card or Book for the matter) becomes the most important report that we have to show in our lives?

The Credit Report, as explained by the Credit Bureau of Singapore, is "a record of our credit payment history compiled from different credit providers.

As most lenders will check our credit file to assess our credit worthiness prior to making a decision, a good credit repayment history will make it easier for us to obtain credit and to qualify for loans."

To be able to qualify for loans to buy properties, or even apply for credit cards, we have to show a good credit report. And in order to get a good report credit, we have to show that we have the ability to manage our money – no late payments, no snowballing of debts, etc..

So, now you know why good money management skills is so important? Everything we want to achieve in life from adulthood on, falls on the fundamentals of how we manage cash. A good credit report showcases that ability. That is the reason why I put effort to educate my circle of influence on the strong need to learn about money, and for our next generation to pick up financial literacy as well..

And as I put my school report book back to my “treasured memories chest”, I came to the conclusion that the school report book was most probably just important for that phase of life, my results that I achieved during my younger years don’t seem to matter as much now that I am in my adulthood.

But hey, as we move forward in life, don’t you realise that Life does go back one full circle, even if we can hold onto a good Credit Report Book during our prime years, as we enter old age, we will be back to holding our Health Report Book as the most important document of our lives.

So, here’s my concluding thoughts: Live well, my friends. Focus on things that matter, and for things that are temporal, treasure them as good memories, but never holding on too tight to them.

P.S. If you share the same thoughts, I have consolidated them on my Telegram channel at least once a week, go subscribe to: t.me/victoriousfinance and share with others who want to learn as well.