Health must trump wealth

A serious health diagnosis helped Linda Celestino get her priorities straight when it came to managing money.

Linda Celestino says living frugally can foster love for the joys in life that do not have a price tag. Pawan Singh / The National

Describe your financial journey so far.

When I look back I think there have been a few roller coaster moments but I have been lucky there’s been nothing drastic. I come from a poor family and learnt very early on to look for joys that did not involve money.

Are you a spender or saver?

I’m slightly more of a saver than I am a spender. I save when I can and spend when I can, but try not to get too stressed about it. I am a mother of five so there are things that I have to spend on whether I like it or not, and things I have to save for whether I like it or not.

What is your philosophy towards money?

Spending less keeps me a little grounded to what I think really matters most. I love expensive shoes and being able to travel, but I don’t need 50 pairs of shoes. I also think living more frugally as a parent teaches children there are joys in life even without much money. This generation and certainly in this part of the world, there’s a lot more affluence and that’s a challenge as a parent – how to keep those values. Money solves a lot of short-term problems but doesn’t deal with the big stuff. I had a serious health diagnosis a few years ago, and the last thing I thought about was my bank balance. The only thing that was on my mind was the people I loved. We spend so much time worrying about how much stuff we have or don’t have and so much energy chasing that stuff, yet when all is said and done, and you are faced with your own mortality – money is the last thing you think about.

Have you made any financial mistakes along the way?

When you start your career you spend too much, you don’t value the amount of work it took to earn that living. Money appears to buy choice and freedom. The lesson I learnt, however, as in what really makes me happy, was worth the price I had to pay for it. Those lessons remain with me today. The bigger villa, the newer car, the outfit I just had to have – didn’t change me or necessarily make me any happier. That happiness came from within.

If you won Dh1 million, what would you do with it?

I want to say I’d buy an island, boat or never work a day in my life. But I like people around me, so the island idea is out of the question. I can’t imagine not getting up every day and not liking what I love. Getting Dh1m would cause more stress for me than the happiness I’d be perceived to be getting from it.

What has been your biggest financial lesson?

When life throws you a curveball or something out of the blue that you are not prepared for, no amount of money for example can deal with cancer, or world hunger. That was my biggest lesson as I was growing up – how to live without striving to get that money because it won’t fix anything. I learnt that lesson quite young, in my 20s. You can plan for today and save for tomorrow, but even the best laid plans can go out the window in a heartbeat.

What do you enjoy spending money on?

I like spending money on things I can’t hold in my hand, but certainly hold in my heart. My real joy is spending money on experiences, travelling to new places, eating wonderful food, and seeing my children happy. If you saw where I live, I don’t have a seven-bedroom villa. We have nice things, we are comfortable, but not that type of big affluence.