I have been getting some unexpected amount of money as a result of Chinese New Years and it got me thinking on how I usually treat these types of funds as invisible for the most part. What I mean by that is that I personally don’t consider it as reserved money to make planned purchases with but instead save these types of fund in a safe way such as a savings account.

I guess one reason for this is that like receiving gifts from people, don’t you ever get that extra uneasy feeling if you are mishandling it in some way? Another example would be if you bought something with your own money and decided to sell it you would have less reserve in doing so as oppose to if it was someone else who bought it for you. I personally see gift money in the same way.

Of course, some would say I just value the generosity of others a little too much. Although, when I think about it I would do the same even if it was a different scenario such as winning a lot of money. Not that I am a gambler, but if I say started to play the lottery while spending $5 and won say $1000, I would be inclined to just save $995 of it.

Unless the amount is truly ridiculous to the point where it would be silly not to say do something active with it (Like say ten million dollars), for the most part I have found that saving unexpected funds can be a good way to discipline your money management efforts and making you appreciate every dollar that you have.

For blog updates subscribe to our RSS feed.