Absolutely content with a modest lifestyle. Feel more intelligent/victorious every time I refuse to spend on things that aren't real sources of joy.
+1
Similar. I never had spending money until I worked for it. I delivered papers, then I got a work permit at age 12 so I could caddy at the local country club. $10/round for 4 hours work. The golfer would buy me a coke and a baby Ruth at the turn and then if I was lucky tip me $2 at the end. That led to pumping gas, dishwasher, bus boy, janitor during summer breaks in college, then selling door to door and my one glamorous job of taking inventory at Harley Davidson. I then got my degree and the rest is history. So I pretty much have worked since 10 or 11 years old.
Similar except that I was one of 11 kids as part of a blended family. (I never could eat liver, by the way, with the exception of deep-fried chicken livers). When I was very young (2 or 3 years old), my parents went through a bankruptcy and lost their house. Later, my Dad was a supervisor at a large company which shut down its office in our small town. Like most of his peers, he started his own business after that. Unlike his peers, he refused to expand like they did and remained a 1 man operation, so there was also "no margin for error" with us, either. If I had to hazard a guess, the bankruptcy shook him and made him very risk averse.I would not say I grew up poor, but there was "no room for error". Perhaps being one of 7 children, I never expected we would have a lot. I never recall missing a meal, though certainly the meal was not always want I wanted to eat. For Christmas we could expect one toy, but I never felt deprived. My dad's famous line when we asked for something was to smile and say "who do I look like, Rockefeller?" (This struck me as funny many years letter during my working years when I did meet a member of the Rockefeller family). He bought a new car every 10 years. My mom was a SAHM except when my parents decided to make a major purchase on credit (which was not more than every few years), then she would work so that they could pay it off quickly. They had a solid religious and savings foundation that I did not fully appreciate until I started living on my own. Most of all, they focused on us 7 kids all getting along, something which has been much more valuable than having possessions.
Many of my friends growing up were in that (or worse) situation, so I really never felt jealousy. I did not run into people that had a lot until I went to an Ivy League college, and frankly I felt more ridicule than envy towards those students that flaunted their wealth. However, I also became friends with those whose families had a lot more money than mine, but were good, kind, friendly, and had a strong study and work ethic. As I stated in another tread, when we get together now, what we have is more the subject of jokes and putdowns.
I can only think of 3 things growing up that influenced my lifestyle choices as an adult:
1. I cannot eat liver. Had enough of it as a child, I choose to never again eat it.
2. I wanted a house with land. I grew in an apartment building with a small concrete courtyard, then a semi-detached house with a 400-500 square foot mostly concrete backyard. I would enjoy visiting friends who have detached homes and grass lawns and backyards, and that was my goal. Living in such a house on 1+ acre of land achieved this dream.
3. Who I would date and marry. I learned to be wary of females who focused on "you should spend money on me". When in college I had to cancel a date opportunity with a woman who then, instead of accepting date offers she received for the event from other guys, said "lets just get some food from the dining hall and go have a picnic", I thought "this might a woman who likes to be with me just for me". After almost 42 years of marriage, I think that might still be true.
My dad started paying me (25 cents/hour) when I turned 9. Before that, I w*rked at the family business - for room and board.
My childhood was yours, 12 years later. Joining the Navy saved me.
Did you ask her how much she wanted to save ?
One question....did you buy new wedding rings?
Very impressive!
We never did. When we got married we each had the simplest of wedding bands. Once we could afford better rings my wife said she didn't want one. So today neither wear any rings. But there was a period when I thought I should have fancy watches and rings. At one point in our life we bought expensive jewelry but afterwards decided we didn't feel comfortable showing off expensive jewelry.
Ours was 2 longs and 2 shorts. I recall that you weren't supposed to listen in, but you knew some people did, so everyone had their own special code words for use on the telephone.
I can understand. I wanted to play football in high school but my dad wanted me to come home after school and work on the farm. I'm glad I did. He didn't have time to come get me after practice when I could have been home working for 3 hours. My dad was underwater on his farm mortgage and didn't need any more stress. I graduated high school found a job paying $800 a month and was loaning my dad money to get by to pay his bills in a year or two. 1986.
