I started a series on financial regrets highlighting mistakes and/or financial regrets I made over the years but as part of the new year, I have been doing some retrospective look at the positive things in my financial life and I had some memorable moments worth sharing.
Washington D.C.
I started my first real corporate job in the mid 90s and I recall my company sending me to Washington D.C. to work with a client. I was a young kid back then and didn’t have a clue about so many thing in life. I did though have Dave. Dave was the regional manager for the firm out of D.C. and nearly 30 years later I still remember him. When I was alone in a ‘foreign’ land, he offered to feed, house and celebrate the 4th of July with me at his home with his family. I often wonder what happened to Dave but he’d be over 70 or 80 years old now and likely not remember me but I still remember him.
Iceland
Sometimes it’s not the amount of money that matters but simply having the kindness to help someone out in a pinch. We were on vacation in Iceland a few years ago and we had a very difficult time parking the SUV we rented. The issue is the parking meters were all digital and didn’t accept cash and our cards did not work. We were very frustrated because we had already been ticketed once and had a hard time finding the place to pay the find.
A young Indian man saw our struggle with the parking meter and kindly paid the meter. I offered to send him some money but he refused. He was our hero that day and I regret not ever getting his name but I still remember his kindness.
Sea of Japan
Our family was on a cruise ship in Japan and we had delays and had to sit in a waiting area for a couple of hours due to something happening with the ship. We were sitting in a common area with many other people at a very large table. We were all hungry and agitated and a kind man, probably from Malaysia, gave us some of his food including some ice cream he had bought for his family. I offered to pay the man for his kindness but he refused but years later I still remember his face and that of his family.
Giving Back
The hardest thing now for me is trying to give back. Over the years I’ve contributed a lot of money to charities but I don’t feel that many of these charities are doing enough nor providing enough transparency which is why I prefer things like Kiva.org or doing things more personally. I’m going to try to make financial gratitude a theme for 2025 by helping others out but first I need to come up with a systematic plan that I can implement consistently.
Share The Wealth
What do you think? Do you have a financial gratitude story from strangers? Let me know in the comments below.