Remember when you were a child and the thought of someone earning $20/hr made you think the person was rich? Or when you found out that someone paid $6 for a beer and you thought they were insane? Whatever happened to those days? I hope I’m not the only person that misses the days of feeling rich when they had a 20 dollar bill in their hand.
Today I’m going to have some fun and discuss some methods for being childish when it comes to personal finance. I know that I will definitely miss a few points so please feel free to share your input on how you viewed money when you were a child.
Don’t spend money you don’t have
When you were a child it was very simple, if you didn’t have money you didn’t spend any money. All of a sudden you turned 18 one day and you got your very first credit card. Next thing you knew you could buy ANYTHING you wanted at any time. If you were a kid you would think someone is crazy for spending money that they don’t have but now as an adult you may see it as common practise.
Save up slowly
No longer do we save up for months before we make a purchase, we just simply take out the cash or swipe a card to buy that special item. When I was a kid I would save up, do chores around the house, and fantasize about the product until I was finally able to get my hands on it. Why can’t we do this anymore? Now within anything we could ever ask for is just a few clicks away. Sure, it makes life more convenient to able to make purchases so easily, but barriers are sometimes needed in order to hold ourselves back.
Five bucks made you happy
Now five bucks gets you a Starbucks coffee if you’re lucky. Inflation aside, isn’t it funny how $5 seems like nothing these days? I challenge all of you to do this- give $5 to a kid around you, whether it be a child of yours, sibling, friend, or relative. Give them five bucks and then tell me how they react. I guarantee that most kids these days won’t be very impressed at all with the $5.
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This post takes me back… I remember working at Subway and knowing that every hour brought me closer to that new (whatever) that I wanted. Haha – good tips.
I can completely relate. I remember when I was younger how great it was to have saved up my “allowances” so I could buy a brand new pack of basketball cards. I watched my parents spend money on things that were WAY more expensive, yet they wouldn’t just give me $2.50 to buy a pack of cards.
Oh how times have changed…
I used to collect change from around the house and fill up my piggy bank. After a few weeks I would have upwards of $20.
I thank my dad for explaining bank accounts and co-signing with me so that I would have one from a young age.
I may have been the only 8 year old who would rake leaves and then write a deposit slip for pops to take care of.
Oh to be young again!
I think it may be the lack of responsibility, not having bills to worry about therefore you can spend it however you like.
But another big factor is the upbringing too, i know this from personal experience and have struggled financially for years.
I mean i keep telling my friend, if kept listening to my parents i would be driving a brand new 25K car, bought on a loan and paying 500 bucks or more per month for it
I used to mow lawns to make the money for the latest and greatest thingamajig. One lawn in particular was always covered in dog poo and I remember thinking that it was just a part of working to get what you want. I think not enough people step in poo anymore, especially kids who get spoiled by their credit card carrying parents and skip that whole life lesson.
This post actually brings back the memories of those wonderful days. Suddenly life has changed from classroom to cabins, jeans to formals, pocket money to salary and piggy banks to bank accounts!!
As a kid we all were so carefree about the value of time and money. The value of which has now brought a new meaning to your life.
Thanks for taking back to those gone days.
I think being able to hold the money makes it even more special. Actively putting money into a piggy bank too. Everything is done electronically now so you never actually ‘feel’ money anymore. Every now and again I like to hold on to change just to remind me.
The best part of forcing myself to save up for something? Often by the time I had the money to buy whatever thing I felt was so important/cool/whatever, I didn’t want it anymore. Thinking about/imagining buying something was usually more interesting than having the thing anyway.
Jace – Totally agree with your post. About 4 years ago, I bought my fancy (to me it’s fancy) 27″ TV with money I saved at my second (part time) job as a dog sitter/walker. It took a year of poo picking up to save the $500 for that TV. People do not understand why I still have a big clunky tube TV that weighs more than me. I worked for that TV and there was a tremendous satisfaction when I paid CASH for the TV and how exciting it was to go from my little 13″ TV to a nice big 27″ TV. Sadly, today, people are not willing to get their hands uh, dirty, to save for something they really want!
@Slackerjo
I think many of us lost the value in paying for something in full cash instead of at the end of the month. And you are right, people do appreciate something they bought which they saved up for.
Same goes for people that make something, they appreciate it more.
I mean was there ever a problem with debt prior to the great depression? probably not.
I was reading some articles on that and they mentioned that the generation of that time never thought of debt, baby boomers were open to it but still would rather not go down that route.
And now look at our generation, credit IS the only option.