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It was absolutely a given, but I regret not choosing a state school. I received a partial scholarship to a private school as well as graduate school, and I worked two to three part-time jobs to pay the rest, in addition to monetary gifts from my grandmother.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
A savings account was opened in my name by my grandmother and any money she gifted me was returned to her. My siblings and I were trained to gleefully say, “Put it in the bank!” after receiving a check. My mother was frugal, while my father was an impulse shopper, so my siblings and I received mixed messages. I did learn how to balance a check book and write a check (dating myself: we also had a safety deposit box).
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I was a school bus monitor for summer school, a babysitter, opened a cafe on the weekends, and a summer camp counselor. Looking back, I was way too immature for any of these responsibilities. I needed money for after school activities (and, clearly, I needed to stay busy all the time).
Did you worry about money growing up?
I was concerned about making money and having enough money, but I wasn’t deeply worried or stressed like I am daily now.
Do you worry about money now?
Freaked out about debt, savings and how I’m going to somehow make it every other hour of every day. Due to the gig industry, I am also constantly chasing down payments. I was delusional about how deep of a hole I was in prior to my previous Money Diary (a year ago). The comments did not hesitate to point this out! I really benefitted from listening to the haters and made a lot of the changes suggested: I terminated my coworking gym membership, I sold my car, and I applied for a credit card with a limited-time no-interest-rate introduction special to save on interest. (A genuine thanks, commenters!)
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I was financially responsible from college graduation until post-pandemic, when I had a stable salary, no debt, and large savings and investments. Debt accumulated during COVID-19 for my small business has set me back, so that I am not taking a salary and working multiple freelance jobs and am a “gig” worker to catch up. I have relied on my savings: Everything my grandmother gave me has been spent, I cashed in what investments I could, and sometimes I ask my mother to borrow money.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
I cosigned a line of credit on my grandmother’s property, which allowed me to fund my small business almost 10 years ago. Interest and principal payments come from the business account, so this is not a personal expense. When we opened, we borrowed money from multiple family members, including $10,000 from my mother, which I have not paid back yet (originally, she considered it an “investment” and it’s still unclear if I’m paying this back or not, as there’s no structured plan). Over the years, I was given $10 cash in an envelope for each birthday by my mother. My grandmother, as mentioned, often wrote larger checks for gifts. This all went to investments, most of which I liquidated in 2017.
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