Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I was a good student in high school so I kind of naturally ended up in honors classes and AP classes. Once I was in that group I was never presented with options other than college. In hindsight I think I should have considered trade schools, but I didn’t really know that was an option at the time. When the time came my parents and I agreed to split all college costs 50/50. I had some money saved from working in high school and graduation gifts so that’s how I paid my half at first. When I ran out of money my parents decided to give me an interest-free loan where they would give me money as I needed and continuously tally it up. I’ve paid bits off over the last few years but they insist they don’t want us to pay them back until we’re “established in life”. Now that we’ve bought our house, I think it might be time to pay them back.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
My dad worked in banking, so he told my brother and I bad money management things he’d seen so that we would know what not to do. He was very good about setting us up for success later in life like getting us credit cards/loans that he managed so we could start off with good credit scores.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was babysitting for spending money.
Did you worry about money growing up?
I was occasionally (incorrectly) worried about money just because my parents kind of made a big deal over spending any money. I know now that it was never a concern, it was just something they commented on a lot. I think they were trying to show us real world money management but it came off a different way than I think they intended to.
Do you worry about money now?
My husband and I are fortunate enough to have pretty stable jobs and a good emergency fund but I still worry about money because I’m generally a worrier.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I would say I wasn’t financially responsible for myself until I graduated college. I was still paying my own bills and whatnot in college but it wasn’t until I moved into my first apartment by myself that I really felt like I was on my own. If anything catastrophic were to happen I’m sure my parents or my husband’s parents would help financially.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
My grandparents gave each of their grandchildren their inheritance ($10,000) ahead of their passing because they knew that all of them were in a spot in their life where they could really use it. We’re very grateful and used the money toward our house down payment.
