Yes, I was always expected to go to college, and specifically an Ivy League school (which I did). My parents paid for my tuition and room/board, and I worked campus jobs to have spending money for anything else.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My parents told me all the time that money does not grow on trees and you need to earn it first to be able to buy things. They were very big into saving as much as possible and taught me to never spend money I didn’t have (i.e. get into debt). When I got older, they helped set me up my first bank account and credit card and taught me about the importance of building good credit pretty early on, which was helpful.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I started helping out at my dad’s office (filing papers, doing data entry) on Saturdays when I was 10 or 11, and my dad paid me $5 an hour in cash so I could save up to buy my first iPod. For years, this was how I “earned” bigger purchases from my parents. When I turned 16 and the company could finally put me on payroll, I started doing temp work in another department on my school breaks and making some real money. My first W2 job was working a few hours a week as a teaching assistant at my synagogue’s Sunday school, starting in 8th grade. My parents put all my paychecks in my bank account but did not give me access to the account, so any purchases I wanted to make still had to go through them.
Did you worry about money growing up?
Not really. I didn’t worry about my basic needs being met I knew we were solidly upper-middle class, but I was always worried about having to ask my parents for anything, because I never knew how it was going to go over. It could be an easy yes if my mom was in a good mood, or it could be a hard no on something I considered essential, and I’d get into a screaming match with my mom over the cost/benefit of a new school sweatshirt when my favorite one had holes in it. My parents didn’t want me to become spoiled by getting whatever I wanted (like some of my classmates), and they wanted to prevent me from spending the little money I made on silly teenage girl stuff. These were admirable goals, but it was confusing and frustrating because I always knew I wasn’t asking for anything I/we couldn’t afford, so it often just felt like a control thing more than an important financial lesson.
Do you worry about money now?
I don’t worry about money day to day — I make enough to cover my expenses and I could tighten up my spending if I needed to. But I worry more existentially about saving enough for retirement and the increasing unaffordability of living in a single-income household in a high-cost city that also happens to currently be under threat by a certain someone’s methodical dismantling of the federal government. I worry about whether I’ll be able to afford to stay here if I lose my job or if my landlord raises my rent or sells the apartment.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I became mostly responsible for myself at 21 when I graduated college, but I had to move back home in between jobs a few times in my early 20s (this was very normal in my industry), and did not become fully financially responsible until I turned 26 and started paying for my own health insurance. My parents are definitely my financial safety net, and I think they would send me a couple months of rent if I really needed it, but after the last time I moved out when I was 25 my mom told me I would not be allowed to move home again.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
My parents paid for my college education and bought me a used car my senior year that I still own today.