A wealthy merchant decided to test who among his 3 sons was worthy of managing his business. One day he called all 3 of them and gave them 5 grains of rice each. He told them, “Take good care of these 5 grains and return them to me after 5 years.” The first son threw away the grains thinking, why should he store the grains for 5 years when he can pick 5 grains from the kitchen and return them anytime to his father. The 2nd son was obedient and kept the grains in a jewellery box so that he could return the same grains to his father after 5 years. The 3rd son thought he should make good use of the grains and make his father proud. He sowed the grains in a field which grew into crops during the harvest season. He kept resowing the grains from these crops. In two years he moved to a bigger field and then a large quantity of rice was harvested year after year resulting in tons of rice after 5 years. It was very obvious which son the wealthy merchant chose to manage his empire.

Like the 3 sons who managed the grains in many ways, people also manage their money in many ways. Some spend most of their money without investing and ultimately borrow for meeting critical goals (1st son). Some cannot differentiate between saving and investing due to which their money doesn’t grow to beat inflation (2nd son). Very few are like the 3rd son who consistently invest for the long run and compound their wealth over the years.

Which son do you resemble?