I USED to think that carrying a lot of money on me was an invitation to pickpockets.

I even used to scold some of my friends for keeping large amounts of cash with them, and I never brought a lot of money with me unless I needed to go shopping.

But recently I realised that a half empty purse had its pros and cons.

It was a beautiful morning and I got to the office early to pick up my friend and go to an interview in Insein township.

I had not noticed that there was only K1620 in my purse and I was planning to get some breakfast on our way. There is a great mohinga shop in the direction we were going and I was planning to go there to get something to eat.

We hailed down a taxi and met with our first problem. He wanted K2000! I did not have enough so my friend and I searched for a taxi that would take us for K1500.

Two or three taxis later we found the fare we wanted, and I was dreaming of a mohinga breakfast when it dawned on me that I was running low on cash. I sheepishly asked my friend if she could lend me the money .She had only brought K100 with her so my dream of breakfast disappeared. But these things happen and I would just have to go without.

It took us a long time to find the house we were looking for, but after asking several people we found it.

The interview went well but when the time to go back home came, my money problems started again. The bus stop was a long way from there and it was getting hot so we decided to take a trishaw for K150. But when I reached into my purse I only had K120 left so I had to swallow my pride once more and ask my friend for K50. That left me with just K20 and my friend with K50 but at least we had enough money for the bus. I thought our problems had ended there.

But the trishaw driver said, “Your K100 note is torn and I can’t accept it. You have to give me another one.”

We did not know what to do and we stared at each other trying to work out how to get out of this mess.

“I really want to give you another one,” I explained to the trishaw driver, “but we have run out of money.”

Luckily for us he was a kind man and said, “If that’s the way it is then I don’t mind.”

A few minutes later we were on the bus back to the office and I just prayed that it wouldn’t get flat tire and I would have to walk back to work.

That day I made up my mind that I would always carry enough money with me, plus a little more.