Sumaya HarareSpeaker, Storyteller and Entrepreneur

"Growing up, most of my life, up until I was 7, my family and I didn’t really have a home. We fled Somalia when the civil war started (my mother was pregnant with me) and had been going from place to place to find somewhere to settle. Ajman for a while then Dubai, Kenya then finally Australia.

My parents didn’t have much especially when I compared it to the kids at my primary school. I wanted the new baby born like all my other 3rd grade classmates had but it was far too expensive for us to afford. I knew it would be which is why I never asked for it. My brothers and I knew that things were tough especially since my sister was born not long after we arrived. But my parents did their best, buying us the things they could afford and honestly, we were quite happy with what we had.

Now you would think my past would make me into a frugal person. Save a penny there, penny here and tighten the belt straps because you may never know when you’ll be without, right? Nope. It had the complete opposite effect. When I started coming into money as a teenager (allowance and a part time cleaning job) I spent it all very quickly. Like I’ve never heard of saving for a rainy day. That mindset of spend spend spend followed me well into adulthood and I’m now preparing myself for that rainy day.

While my mother refused to spend money most of the time, it was dad that was (and still is) a money saving expert. You could spring any unexpected bill on him and he will always have the funds to pay it off then and there. I aspire to be that prepared. It’s also from him that I’ve learnt not to go near credit cards (as bad as my spending habits are, I’ve never lived above my means and incurred any debt.) and if you do get one, be very careful with what you use it on and always pay it back immediately!"