Petty Cash

 While in medical school, I was part of a friend group active in the student union, particularly in arranging social events, including debates, musahiyra, get-togethers, etc. Student unions allocate a particular amount of funds for such events. Said that it was a public (government) medical college and allocated funds were minimal. We primarily relied on money from advertisements, commercial banners, and pharmaceutical companies. One of the tricks I learned from seniors during those days was called “petty cash.”

What ‘petty cash’ meant was that we had a secret account for money saved from previous events to use if we ran short for subsequent events. We used to keep a balance of around 3000 rupees in that free-flowing, non-audited account. Interestingly, we kept that money in a box hidden somewhere in the student union office, and we call it petty, as in Urdu. (Trust me, in those days, 3000 rupees was a good amount for poor students.)

“Petty cash” always stayed with me. When I came to this country and slowly started settling down, it brought more and more responsibilities on my shoulders. It also meant taking care of more bills–and often unexpected expenses. My ‘petty cash’ amount was $25 monthly when I finished residency. I also learned that “petty cash” is a classic example of ‘life balance.’ Sometimes, you may lose money somewhere, but on the same token, you also get money from unexpected sources.

Going forward, this amount gradually increased. As my two children are in college, I have two cars for personal use and travel extensively; my current “petty cash” value is $1000.

If I lose up to $1000, I don’t sweat; money will be recovered somewhere down the lane. To give you an example, I recently had to cancel an international flight, and I lost about $1100 (it hurts – I know), but next week, I learned one of the locum companies I worked previously paid my license and DEA fees (almost equivalent to $1500) for one of the states as a good gesture. Simultaneously, American Airlines deposited 11K miles in my account for a mistake on their side a year ago. Every other week, I encounter such examples.

That’s how life is with its pleasures and sorrows. Life is full of ‘petty cash’. Usually, it’s not worth being unhappy about small losses, as money is bound to come from unexpected sources. As Rohinton Mistry says about life, it is a fine balance.

Please continue to tip servers and drivers appropriately, and don’t be unhappy if you lose petty cash here and there. Decide on a petty cash value at which you will shrug your shoulder and move on—maybe $5 extra on your cable bill or $50 more on your car insurance.

Life goes on!

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