Money and time
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By Chang Soon-hee
Life is being assembled with money and time, as I see it.
Almost all human desires can be fulfilled by having money, so people go to work mainly for the money. Rich men always marry beautiful women, and vice versa.
Money in many cases goes hand in hand with honor and fame, though some men say they work only for reputation. Many ex-heads of states in the world have been indicted for making money wrongly during their time in office, often in coordination with their beautiful wives who always play innocent. Money goes with power, too.
Then there is the invisible and mysterious time, which is equally distributed to everyone. In order to earn money, people spend time. Salaried women and men sell their time in exchange for money, but they pitifully would never become rich because employers decide employees’ salaries, which is especially low for women.
Those who harvest profits by a result-oriented business are called self-employed entrepreneurs, “sajang,” or boss, and some become rich by working more than three times harder than those selling their time. High scholastic ability isn’t a necessity in this case.
One who cherishes and is frugal with time always seems to be in need of more time. In other words, we spend time recklessly because we don’t realize its importance as we have a lot of it, until we become aware of the fact that we really need more. Many elderly women gaze into the mirror with bitter grief in their hearts because of their short blossoming years.
Some people hide the money earned by immoral means in the bottom drawer of a closet at home. Then they find it hard to sleep well with that money so close and keep dreaming about a burglar’s visit.
Then a man put the illicit money he has gained into an earthenware jar, and buries it in an orchard when the moon is hiding, and carves a mysterious mark in the trunk of a nearby apple tree, his wife observing it. Then he mumbles, “Damn thing, it’s harder to keep it than to get it!”
The safest place to keep whatever money is to deposit in a bank in Seoul or on the Cayman Islands. The teller won’t ask you questions about the origin but treats you as a VIP and pays you interest.
Regrettably, money never goes without problems. I’ve never seen anyone who became rich by burying it underground or depositing it at any bank. There is an invisible money eater called inflation that eats up your money much faster than the interest rate offered by the bank, which is normally the size of a sparrow’s dew.
If you want to become a rich man, you should first start saving money. However, keep imposing the old “thrift and saving” spirit on your wife won’t make you rich. Men who know how to earn money know how to find a profitable business and let money produce money.
Those who know how to make money are not necessarily hard workers and always happy. If we can become wealthy by just working hard, then everyone would try working harder and harder, and everyone should finally become rich and happy.
But not everyone becomes rich; there are so many affluent yet unhappy people. Because moneymaking businesses are very scarce at any time, and a profitable business becomes unprofitable soon with the change of time, and happiness doesn’t come from money alone but by how well we spend our time.
The writer is a granny who once lived in Closter, New Jersey. She now lives contentedly in Seoul. Her email address is ham1940@gmail.com.