Thinking back, I remember my girlfriend telling me that I should open a savings account to secure my well-being in the future. I told her that it was fine. I told her that it was unnecessary. Especially considering that I was so young and fit.

A savings account would have been helpful. I would be able to give some of my money to my parents. They would build the apartments that they always wanted to build. They would adopt a dog, seeing that they would have lost a son. They would have been glad that I left them something. R8 000 won’t go too far. It could buy groceries for a few months and maybe some clothes.

That’s all.

Or maybe they could invest it. The one thing that I could have done with my money, but never did.

What a joke I was, seeing that I couldn’t even do something as simple as opening a savings account.

If you had a dollar for every time you regretted a stupid decision that you made. You’d be a millionaire. My girlfriend always said that. She always said that I did things without thinking and regretted it later.

She was right, as always.

But at least, I would have enough money to leave for my parents. My current state was too shameful.