Yes, it does sound similar! There is nothing wrong with my work ethic. I started babysitting as soon as I could, and at age 14 I lied about my age to get a summer job making sandwiches at a little family owned dump – for $2/hour cash. I worked 40 hours a week and every Friday, when the dad/owner peeled off eight $10 bills to pay me, I was ecstatic.
My motivation to work hard was that my mom refused to spend extra money on Calvin Klein jeans, Adidas shoes, and designer hair products. We agreed that she would give me the amount that she would have spent on Toughskins and Sears brand shoes and I would either make it work of find a way to supplement it if I wanted designer stuff. The thought of going to school in Toughskins was, indeed, a powerful motivator.
However, no one ever taught me about saving, etc. So, when I rented my first apartment, started a cool new job, I just used my credit cards to buy everything. I never thought about how I would pay for it.
At the other end of the spectrum, one of my best friends had to give her parents at least 30% of anything she earned (including gifts of money) so they could put it in a money market account for her. It started with babysitting money and went on through college. By the time she married at age 25, she had at least $25,000 in the bank which, of course, thrilled her thrifty husband.
When you consider how little it takes to build wealth (the miracle of compound interest) if one gets an early start, it’s mind boggling. Yet, to my knowledge, no one FORMALLY teaches kids about this.
