Linda’s prompt for SoCS this week…

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “point.” Open a book on your lap, close your eyes, and put your finger on the page. Whatever you land on, whether it be a word, a phrase, or a sentence, write about it. Enjoy!

Book – Fresh Off The Boat by Eddie Huang

Word pointed at – Money

Oh, this makes me think back a couple of weeks to a story I touched upon in one of my Chai and a Chat posts…

A little while back, I was perusing my bank statement online, as you do, lamenting on the lack of money in my account.

I noticed an entry signalling a top up on my son’s mobile account for £15.

Fair enough, I usually do that every couple of months.

Then I noticed the entry below, for the date previous to the first. This time for £35.

Hmm…

Scrolling down, I realised that a total of £125 had been taken from my account over five weeks!

£125!!!

I had been wondering why my account seemed a little lighter than it usually did…

After blowing a gasket at him, (fully entitled to, I was) and hearing his answer, I realised that kids nowadays, especially those in middle and upper-class families really have no idea of the value of money.

He just saw a button on his app that said Top Up. So he clicked it, and it worked. So he did it again. And again. And again…

“I’m sorry, mummy, I just thought the money was there for me and I just had to press the button to get more credit!”

“No son, top up means something is empty, and you have to fill it up again! Where did you think the money came from?”

Of course, I’m made of money, aren’t I? Especially on a teachers salary!

Online payments, bank cards, touch and pay cards, they are all so convenient, but they also make you forget that you actually need money in the accounts before spending.

I think my generation may be one of the last to really understand cash. We used it a lot. We held it. We may have been paid it.

But now it’s all electronic, its value isn’t really concrete anymore. It’s just a vague idea. Because all you have to do is tap a button and things arrive. From shopping to food to a film, it’s all available to purchase.

One time, when he was a mere tot, he was obsessed, and I mean really obsessed, with Spiderman. He would spend ages playing with figures and watching videos online. He would browse all sorts. It was only when I received a notification from Ebay that I had successfully bid £250 for a lifesize bust sculpture of dear old Spidey, and I was required to pay it, did I realise that my account had been left logged in on my iPad!

Thankfully the seller saw the funny side and reversed the sale!

Money… Can’t live with it, can’t live without it!

Catch ya later Peeps! Happy Saturday!

https://lindaghill.com/2018/11/02/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-nov-3-18/