A friend once asked me, "Kamag-anak mo si Kory?", Huh? May kamag-anak ba kaming Kory? I haven't realized back then what they were telling me, so I was confused and wondered bad ba ang pagiging kuripot? I am a full-blooded Ilocana, and I'm immune to friends who keeps teasing me 'kuripot' ever since. Back then, deadma lang ako sa mga ganun kasi ang pagkakaalam ko kapag Ilokano ang isang tao kuripot talaga, it was like trademark na sa mga Ilokano yun. It was relatively true, well based sa observation ko as I grew up. So, it's no big deal kapag tinawag akong kuripot, and so what? Being kuripot means being matipid at hindi palagastos sa mga bagay na hindi naman talaga kailangan. We can do this by living below our means. It's not as easy as we say lalo na kung hindi natin nakaugalian ang magtipid dahil our parents had much to give and we haven't experience the hardship of earning money specially sa mga modern-day parents and children ngayon. I remember my parents never gave us a quick cash when we need to buy something, we need to earn it by selling some kamatis or sitaw in our neighbor, or selling ice-candy and polvoron at school. Then out of our profit, we save for the things that we need and wanted to buy. Practicing a simple yet practical life is easy as long as we identify what we really need versus what we want in life. Its all about delayed gratification. Sacrifice now, payback soon when we're able to save and earn enough to enjoy the fruits of our labor. So I guess, being kuripot is okay as long as we know our limits and boundaries.
