Childhood memories about money

[brewer12345]

More importantly, I wonder what lessons and memories we are giving our kids now. We try hard to talk about money and not make it taboo, the kids get allowance and have a steadily increasing chore list as they get older, and they have bank accounts and piggy banks. DW and I generally do not squabble over money and I don't believe the kids want for anything. Are these the right lessons? Time will tell, I suppose.

 

[Nords]

More importantly, I wonder what lessons and memories we are giving our kids now.

If you carry through with your threat to make your kids learn how decrypt bond circulars, we'll probably be hearing from them on this board...

 

[Khufu]

We seem to be soul mates. I deeply admired Scrooge McDuck too. Loved the idea of diving into a swimming pool full of coins ... although I never thought about the landing.

So, I am not the only one. Scrooge was my favorite comic book character. I think it was because he was so unabashed about being a skinflint.

 

[mortal]

My family was 'lower middle class' growing up. When I was very young I remember my parents buying me a G.I. Joe every now and then when they went to walmart. I remember it taking all year for me to save up $65 for a video game [that would sell for $1.00 in the app store now].

When I was 17, my folks let me start driving my mom's old car. I have cerebral palsy, so I couldn't work most minimum wage jobs, but I did get a job at the local power company office. My supervisor was very kind. He showed me how the local power system was managed, and it was very interesting.

When I turned 18, I started receiving disability, which amounted to a grand total of $580 / mo. I saved what I could, because I knew I'd have to get a 'new' car before heading off to college, as mine was just about old enough to get it's own drivers licence.

I had all of $610 / mo. for living expenses. Even accounting for roomates [and neighbors that kept me up all night], I only had about $3 / day for food (Thank goodness my mom sent me leftovers from time to time). I knew that even if I was ok with the way I was living, no woman would ever be. I often wonder if all the folks that constantly bash those on welfare have any conception of just how little they live on? I knew I could not go on 'living' like that.

I enrolled in college, and thankfully, I managed to get enough grants and scholarships to pay my way. About half way through college, I got a 'real job'. First as a software tester, then as a programmer making real money [$17/hr!].

I don't think you can overstate this. Going from real grinding poverty to a job that pays more than the bare minimum every month was WONDERFUL. Of course, I was 'off' disability, but for the first time I had a little extra income, and was so nice not to worry about every penny I spent.

Of course, by then I was frugal by nature, so I started saving what I could, reassuring myself I would never go back to that life. To date, my income has expanded roughly 10x, and my living expenses 2x. I save over half my income, and likely will continue to do so until I can support myself with a ~3% SWR. I don't know what I'll do when I hit that point, but that's ok. I have about a decade to figure it out.

 

[pletal]

I believe my childhood experiences taught me work ethic more than saving. If you do not work you cannot save.
When growing up both my grandfathers were self employed and did rather well, but worked hard. I did not know at the time they were wealthy, never really compared our family to others. I had a job when I was 12 and always worked. One grandfather drove a Rolls Royce and still worked. Guess he liked cars. None of my family retired early, I have the means now at 47 but probably won't. I think work may be in our genes.

I do remember my grandfather used to bury $50 each week in a jar in the back yard, my father told me he did this from 1948 to 1979 . Never more, never less. Parents need to realize saving and work ethic need to be shown to the upcoming generation, if not they are doomed.

 

[daystar]

I had parents and grandparents that were upper middle class, but we lived as if we didn't have a lot of money. I remember wearing outdated hand-me-down clothes for a number of years, while also hearing my mom talk to the tenants of a property we owned, or going with my grandma to the stock broker. We were never given the newest, coolest toys or clothes or anything like that. I didn't get an allowance until I was in high school. I grew up in an area where a lot of people had money, so a lot of high school kids received cars from their parents. Not me. I think my parents were basically like the "Millionaires Next Door."

 

[JoeWras]

Many memories, but let me pick two:

First, my parents made sure we had passbook savings accounts. We were encouraged to save portions of our birthday money. Rarely, mom would take me to the bank with her and I'd put in some money. I got a huge kick out of seeing the magic interest posted. I wanted to save more.

Second, I got a lot of US Savings Bonds for presents from my family. Back then, there were little explanations and tables about how they mature printed on the back. I remember thinking, "Wow, they bought this for $12.50, but it will be worth $25 when I grow up." Perhaps I'm wired that way. I have friends who would say "Cheapskates: it says $25 but is worth $12.50."

When I hit my 40's, I cashed in those bonds that had just matured or were near maturity. That was a lot of fun to be surprised to see how much they were worth.

 

[kumquat]

My memories of early childhood are mixed. My parents/grandparents were farmers, so cheap the Queen screamed before they let her go (Canadian phrase).

We lived 5 miles from the nearest town and only went there once a week (gas cost money). We had a huge garden and a couple of 'eating animals'. I always thought we were poor even though until my older sister hit school age, we wintered in California. A few years after school was a problem, we wintered in Ontario where DF could work as a member of the Bar.

GF retired when I was 12ish, sold 1/4 of the farm. A few years later he un-retired and took another 1/4 of the land base to make a farmer out my n'er-do-well cousin. Then he died. A couple of years after that, DF died and I took over the farm, or about half of what it had been. While not the biggest around, it was probably around the 80th percentile in size and profit.


It was only then that I realized we had been very well-to-do when I was a kid. It was all in the bank.

 

[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?

That's what I remember. I think the passbook had entries filled out by a clerk. I'd put in my small change + passbook and get back my balance some days later. My starting allowance was something like 15 cents when I was about 10 years old. That would be boosted by 10 cents per year --- WOW!!!

Then one day, I think I was around 14, I decided to buy a pair of binoculars with some of my stash. Mom approved the purchase and those were great binoculars. They are still in our house ... somewhere.

 

[Lsbcal]

... My parents/grandparents were farmers, so cheap the Queen screamed before they let her go (Canadian phrase). ...

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

 

[Gumby]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

+1

 

[Nords]

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.