How money brings out your personality

Lithuanian expat Erika Blazeviciute believes money empowers and shows the world the real you

By Melanie Swan

If you had to use one word to describe money what would it be?

Empowerment. Money empowers you to do the things that bring you joy in life and it empowers you to do the things you could not do otherwise. Money does not change people. Money emphasises the good or the bad in people.

If you had to write a letter to money, what would you say?

I would encourage money to ‘go’ to those who need it and not to those who want it.

How would you describe your relationship to money?

I am forever learning how to make money work for me and how I can use what I have to create genuine wealth. It is a process and some of the most profound realisations surrounding money come with age and experience in life. You can’t expect an 18 year old to see money in the same light a 50 year old does.

How do you think this relationship was formed?

It is all down to life experiences. Our childhood plays a vital role here too. We tend to mirror our parents’ relationships with money. I come from a working-class background where both of my parents regularly had two jobs to ensure that me and my sister had a comfortable life, a nice house and went to a good school. My parents had always respected money and my dad used to always say, ‘I don’t mind spending money but I don’t like wasting it’, and that is something that has really stuck with me.

What lessons about money management did you learn from your mother?

My mum always had money put aside for a rainy day, she had always saved. Therefore, I think I have always been good with future planning and have always saved. However, something I am working on right now is investing those savings to make sure it generates passive income.

Who do you speak to about money matters and is it something you consider ‘taboo’?

I do not consider it to be a taboo subject at all. I think there is a difference between showing off and simply talking about money matters. And I do not shelter my children from money conversations either. I want them to be confident around money and know how to respect it.

Who has taught you the most about financial management?

My parents and my husband.

What do you think has been the most profound experience you’ve had so far in relation to money, good or bad, and what has it taught you?

When I was a student, I was offered by the bank a credit card with a limit of 500 GBP (Dh2,334.) and I took it to use for emergencies. Once I had maxed it out on various purchases, I really struggled to pay it back... I learnt what it is like having debt.

How do you think living in the UAE has changed your relationship with and perception of money and wealth?

It has taught me that there are multiple ways to earn money. It has somewhat liberated me from thinking that we can only earn money by doing a ‘9-5’ job.

If you could give your child or your younger self one piece of advice about money what would that be?

I would give the same advice that my dad always used to say to me and my sister — there is nothing wrong with spending money, but it is disrespectful to waste it.