Finance course taught me money is great for buying stuff

I finally built up courage and recently applied for a course in Canadian Securities as the institute offered me a huge discount on the fees.

Like most other people, I cannot resist a good bargain and I thought the offer of a $300 (Dh1,103) rebate for a returning student was worth exploring and sent in the application despite sceptical looks from my wife and sons.

“Isn’t it a little too late in the day to be studying?” asked my wife. “Dad, are you sure you want to do this? It’s a lot of money,” advised my elder son, who I am sure would rather use the cash to send gifts to his girlfriend.

I must confess that I am a course drop-out, but it was not for the want of trying. I had applied for the course when I had landed in Canada and like everyone else was eager to study and upgrade my knowledge.

I went and picked up the thick books from the institution a fortnight later and inside the study kit there was a cheerful note from the institution head. “We recommend that you put in at least two hours of study a day,” said the note. “Conscientious students have completed the course in six months,” he said.

The reason I wished to study about securities was that I hoped I would become wise enough to know when to buy low and when to sell high and not be as dumb with my money as I had been over all these years. The only thing I knew about finance was that money was great for buying stuff.

When we landed in Canada, we had some cash with us — my gratuity money for the long years spent in Saudi Arabia. We went to the bank near our apartment and asked for advice on how to invest our money. The manager’s ears perked up when he heard where we had come from and immediately made an appointment for us with a financial adviser the next week.

He must have thought we were high net-worth individuals; the type of people banks fawn over and send gifts like free tickets to concerts and membership to exclusive clubs.

The financial adviser was not the type of person we expected. In our mind’s eye, we were thinking of a smooth talker with gelled hair and with great ideas for our money. The person in front of us at the bank cabin was a mousy-looking guy with thick glasses. He took one look at our bank statement and must have had a good laugh inside, but that didn’t show on his face.

Back to my course, and every day, after long hours at work, I would jump onto the subway train for the two-hour long commute home, open my heavy textbook and immediately nod off to sleep.

A year passes very fast and the time allowed to appear for the exam elapsed and that was the end of my knowledge-seeking.

The other thing was that soon after I had registered for the course, the Dow dropped, Nasdaq collapsed and Nortel shares were listed at $2.

Now that I have again applied for the course, I am in a state of panic. “Where will I find time for two hours every day after grocery shopping, my trip to the laundry and downloading movies,” I wondered.

My son has promised to help me out run through the course and maybe this time, after the next six months, I will be wise enough not to be intimidated when going to the corner branch of my bank.

Hopefully, with my new-found knowledge about banking and finance I will also be able to ask wise questions to the bank salesman calling me to upgrade my credit card.