Childhood memories about money

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal That's really funny. Let me guess, the Queen was on one of those Canadian coins?

I believe she is on all of them.

[kumquat]

All coins and some bills.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal Remember those savings account envelopes you got in school in the 1950's? The small one with a string that you wrapped around the red raised cardboard dot to secure your passbook + deposit in?

You just raised a latent memory! Oh my, but it was the 60's. Ah yes, the old string around the dot. I just remember the book and seeing that imprinted interest, but sure enough, there were the envelopes too.

What do kids do today? Log on and check their daily balance? Doesn't seem as gratifying. Or... maybe there's an app for that?

[Sue J]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras You just raised a latent memory! Oh my, but it was the 60's. Ah yes, the old string around the dot. I just remember the book and seeing that imprinted interest, but sure enough, there were the envelopes too. What do kids do today? Log on and check their daily balance? Doesn't seem as gratifying. Or... maybe there's an app for that?

And this reminded me of those little cardboard folders that you could save coins in. There was a small paper slot for each coin and once you put the coin in it was tough to get it out without tearing the paper.

I looked for a link to one of these online but all I can find are folders for displaying collectible coins. The ones I had were probably from our bank and they were for saving and then making a deposit.

As for what kids do today instead of checking their passbook, they check their Mint app.

[old woman]

I was 7 the first time I remember anything about money. My dad was injured at work and couldn't work for 4 months. Mom took us kids to pick green beans for the money. I made 50 cents a day or less for working from dawn when the beans were cold and wet until the cannery was closed for the day. That fall my teacher asked us to ask our parents for dimes for the march of dimes and I told her our family didn't have money to give away. She told my mother the children shouldn't know if the family was having financial problems. I was always very careful about spending any money since I knew how hard it was to earn. I hoarded most of the money I got so usually had at least $5 when my allowance was .25 and I usually got a dollar for Christmas and birthdays. I learned to love having money much more than spending money. It also made me constantly surprised how much I make a day compared to then and the work is so much easier.

[Walt34]

From the earliest years what I remember most is that we didn't have much money. In the context of things I suppose it would be lower middle class - we lived in a small single-family house, never went hungry, didn't shop at Goodwill, and had a car.

We did get some new clothes but not very often, it was a "big deal" when we did and there was hell to pay if one tore or ruined new clothes.

But I also heard "We can't afford that" very often. I do remember my parents sitting at the dining room table talking about which bills to pay when, and I remember when the furnace quit working on a cold winter night when I was six and me holding the flashlight on a wiring diagram so my father could try to get the thing working again. We did not have money to call a repairman, I do remember hearing that.

So when I bought a house the minimum amount of money in the bank was the price of a new furnace.

Overall there was a sense that there were some people better off than we were and there were some that were not.

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Well, all of these stories are making me think that I should give our college daughter a raise when she helps with yardwork and car maintenance...

Yes you should ...

I'll keep my personal situation personal. Just be aware that if your daughter does something (asked, or on her own), give her a few coins.

You are obligated to her - regardless if you think so, or not, and she will (hopefully) be thankful to you (even if's a "Dad, I love you", in the future)...

Just from somebody who was just put to work at an early age (for no pay) for many years - and I always remembered it (and damned my parents).

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rescueme Yes you should ... I'll keep my personal situation personal. Just be aware that if your daughter does something (asked, or on her own), give her a few coins.

Well, she's 20 years old now, but back when she was younger we used to pay her $5/hour. Then at age 14 she got her part-time Kumon job at $7/hour, so we were priced out of her market and the inflation wage spiral began.

By the time she graduated from high school she was up to $11.25/hour at Kumon and $10/hour at home for unskilled labor. ($15 hour for skilled labor, like maintaining iTunes or teaching Mom how to use her iPhone.) She still puts in a few Kumon hours when she's home, but now I think her boss just pays her in cash under the table. It doesn't show up in her W-2 when she asks for help with her taxes, and I don't ask.

I guess now that sh'e getting into the real civil engineering curriculum, then I can pay $20/hour for skilled labor with soils, hydrology, concrete, and other building materials...

[gcgang]

My dad put his change in a small glass container. He let me roll the coins. When I was 11, in 1965, I started separating the silver dimes and quarters. I still have them.

[Mike n Teri]

I am new here, forgive me if I error.
Interest (paying) stories. My 2¢: Around 7-8th grade I had a class that instructed us in living within our means. Started working after school. This was important. To this day I have a mental note to stay within the income debt ratio. It is basic, but has worked for me.

[Moemg]

I grew up middle class and I thought that was great . I never felt poor . We Went on yearly vacations to the Jersey shore .My parents were the best parents ever if they gave something to one child we all got it . I remember the Christmas when we all got record players with different records . I still feel middle class and maybe this is good because it has enabled me to LBYM for many years even the high paying years .

[Lsbcal]

I seem to remember reading that most Americans that have highish income consider themselves middle class. Maybe that's a good thing.

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal I seem to remember reading that most Americans that have highish income consider themselves middle class.

+1

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal I seem to remember reading that most Americans that have highish income consider themselves middle class. Maybe that's a good thing.

We're all outstanding people, all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average... but we're living a below-average lifestyle. Yeah, that's it.

[cardude]

Mom and dad were both school teachers when my sisters and I were young, but we were a family of six so I'm thinking we were lower middle class. Mom quit teaching after my oldest sister was born, so my dad started driving a bus and teaching swimming lessons to bring in some more income.

In the early 1970s we moved to a small rural town in South Texas to be near my maternal grandmother. My grandfather had passed away and grandmother needed help running the family business. My grandfather was a successful mechanical engineer at GE for years-- then they moved back to grandmother's small Texas hometown and opened a Chevrolet dealership in the 1940s. The business was successful but not huge by any stretch, but grandmother was not able to run it so she turned to my dad for help.

I'm thinking we moved to upper middle class level during this period, but we always lived very frugally. Rented an old two story plantation style house with no A/C for years from a little old lady, and she kept a bedroom in the house and lived with us for years. She finally sold my parents the house, and we/they lived there until the mid 1990s when my parents retired and moved to the hill country. One sister and her family currently live in the old house. It was, and still is, a great old house. I remember having to paint that house with my dad during the summers every few years. He and I would come home from work, (I washed cars, swept floors, and "gophered" during the summers) eat an early dinner, then we grabbed the paintbrushes and painted until dark.

During college I remember my mom telling me to write letters instead of calling on the phone because phone calls were too expensive, so even when they were making good money they remained frugal. I try to do the same with our two teenage boys-- they both work at various jobs. My 13 year old is a paintball referee on the weekends and my 15 year old is a bus boy at a local high end restaurant. They both wanted jobs so they could buy what they wanted without having to ask me for money. I guess they figured the jobs would be easier-- I'm pretty Scroogy.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cardude .......I try to do the same with our two teenage boys-- they both work at various jobs. My 13 year old is a paintball referee on the weekends and my 15 year old is a bus boy at a local high end restaurant. They both wanted jobs so they could buy what they wanted without having to ask me for money. I guess they figured the jobs would be easier-- I'm pretty Scroogy.

Good for you. Long after they have forgotten quadratic equations, they will remember what they learned from those jobs - like how to save, to prioritize spending and to take responsibility.

[steve88]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cardude Mom and dad were both school teachers when my sisters and I were young, but we were a family of six so I'm thinking we were lower middle class. Mom quit teaching after my oldest sister was born, so my dad started driving a bus and teaching swimming lessons to bring in some more income. In the early 1970s we moved to a small rural town in South Texas to be near my maternal grandmother. My grandfather had passed away and grandmother needed help running the family business. My grandfather was a successful mechanical engineer at GE for years-- then they moved back to grandmother's small Texas hometown and opened a Chevrolet dealership in the 1940s. The business was successful but not huge by any stretch, but grandmother was not able to run it so she turned to my dad for help. I'm thinking we moved to upper middle class level during this period, but we always lived very frugally. Rented an old two story plantation style house with no A/C for years from a little old lady, and she kept a bedroom in the house and lived with us for years. She finally sold my parents the house, and we/they lived there until the mid 1990s when my parents retired and moved to the hill country. One sister and her family currently live in the old house. It was, and still is, a great old house. I remember having to paint that house with my dad during the summers every few years. He and I would come home from work, (I washed cars, swept floors, and "gophered" during the summers) eat an early dinner, then we grabbed the paintbrushes and painted until dark. During college I remember my mom telling me to write letters instead of calling on the phone because phone calls were too expensive, so even when they were making good money they remained frugal. I try to do the same with our two teenage boys-- they both work at various jobs. My 13 year old is a paintball referee on the weekends and my 15 year old is a bus boy at a local high end restaurant. They both wanted jobs so they could buy what they wanted without having to ask me for money. I guess they figured the jobs would be easier-- I'm pretty Scroogy.

how does one work before the age of 16? I didn't thik it was legal

[cardude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve88 how does one work before the age of 16? I didn't thik it was legal

You can work if under 16 but the hours are restricted. No more than 3 hours on a school day and no more than 8 hours per day on weekends.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve88 how does one work before the age of 16? I didn't thik it was legal

In the 70s almost every strawberry commercially harvested in WA was picked by 12-14 year old kids. The 15 years olds were driving the tractor, or driving a pea truck. One of my sons started computer consulting when he was 12.

Ha

[NW-Bound]

Really? Does any kid do that anymore, taking time off from their PC and smartphones? Or they do not hire kids anymore?

Here, after an early-teen girl who delivered newspapers got abducted and murdered in an apartment complex while her mother was waiting in a nearby car, they switched to adult deliverers. That was more than 20 years ago.