Not necessarily. My mom made it clear that she wanted all of us to go to college or even technical school, but there was no major push. I went to a private college for one year (paid for with student loans) and dropped out. I always hated school!
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
There was no education or discussion on finances growing up, sadly. My parents were not good with money. My father was an addict and spent a lot of our money very impulsively. My first and only education on money came from my economics class in high school.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I worked as a cashier at a grocery store at 17. I got the job so I could have my own money and buy cute clothes, lol. It was fun though. It was all high school kids in the evenings so we goofed off A LOT — I’m not sure we deserved the $7.25 and hour we made!
Did you worry about money growing up?
Absolutely. Our phones and lights were shut off from time to time. My parents fought a lot about it so it caused a lot of anxiety and shame.
Do you worry about money now?
Yes, it is something I think about more often than I should. Our mortgage is more than 25% of our income and that’s not ideal for me, but the housing market is just crappy right now and I’m scared of being house poor. Additionally, I would like my savings to be larger. It was $10,000 but car repairs and vet bills hit hard this year, but I am working on building it back up.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I became financially responsible for myself at 18. I went off to college at 18, met my husband, and we dropped out after a year, got married, then got jobs and moved into an apartment together. From the time I moved out for college, I had no financial assistance from anyone. (It’s certainly not a route I would recommend to anyone so young, haha! But we have a happy little life together.) In terms of a safety net, we don’t really have anyone who could help if an emergency came up, but we do have savings, and my husband works a lot of overtime, so he could get extra hours if life popped up.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
I got $1,000 when my grandfather passed 10 years ago.
