Parents in India expect their kids to send them money. I have mentioned about this in one of my posts. The money is not necessarily sent to the parents to their bank account. Normally the person living abroad would have a bank account of their own in India(it is in their name, not their parents)
Indian traditions – Finance
In all of the years I have been living in Poland, i keep contact with my parents using Skype. Every week we have a time fixed for conversation and we talk about whats new in India, and about my life in Poland. Every Sunday my father would say one thing- “ son don’t forget to save money and send it to India’’.
It is not that Indian parents are forcing You to send this money. My parents think that i have left India to find a better living. So with that logic, why is it that their son is not sending them money? Saving money by myself is not enough. If i send the money to India, it would be safe there in a bank account. That way parents feel that their son/ daughter has a better future ahead of them. So i was never mad at my parents for giving me this advice. I always looked upon it as the right thing to do. Maybe people from all over the world do like this. Maybe it is normal?
So every month i would send some money back home. When i don’t send any money, parents would automatically assume that their son is living from mouth to mouth. Meaning that i am living from salary to salary. There were some years where i was not able to send anything home, because it was the beginning of my job career in Poland. They actually thought that i am starving here(Maybe not starving, but You know what i mean). My father would tell me- ”Son send whatever You have, it doesn’t matter even it is 20 euros. ‘’ During those months where i was not able to send any savings back home, i felt very bad. I thought that I am living without any goals in life. Probably I am the only one who doesn’t save enough, and just live a lavish life.
I decided to talk about this fact with a friend of mine in Poland. Boy was I surprised with what they had to say. it turns out that i have the right to decide about my own finance!
In Poland if some one who is an adult had to send money to their parents, so that their parents can save in Your name, then that person would feel like a kid. It is as if parents think that their kid is not responsible about themselves. A person from Poland or any other European country would be mad at their parents for it.
Polish people save for themselves. Usually they use this funds for a vacation or for buying something that they have always wanted. After hearing the logic of savings from a Polish person, i started to think completely different. That is when i decided to have a honest chat with my parents.
My friend is right. I am living in Europe now, and have the right to live like a European. I had to assure my parents that i will save for myself here. I have asked them to close my bank account back home. They could make use of what ever little savings i have left in my bank account for their use. It would be a small gesture for their help throughout all the times where i was not independent. I have felt like I have jumped one more hurdle in my way of changing my Indian mindset. If people all over Poland can save for themselves, i can do it too. 🙂