So us Rounds girls have been raised to work hard, sacrifice, stay humble, go for the underdogs, and never assume something so quickly. We also were raised to be financially responsible. Going through life I never spent money unnecessarily. Sure I would splurge on shoes or clothes, but now I have a family it becomes really different. Although there is more than just me bringing in a paycheck, lots of money goes out. Stupid bills (namely A/C). But as our relationship progressed I quickly realized and took it upon myself to be the financial adviser of our household. I obsessively check our accounts. I constantly irritate Jason on what he spends. Unfortunately I have had to try to install an allowance for Jason (with little success). I try to show him my spreadsheet to show where money goes and how much comes in. If it weren't for me and my obsessiveness we would be in debt and not living a nice life. My poor husband was never taught such a responsibility. He only had his mom since his dad died when Jason was really young. His mom never knew how to handle money. It is not his fault. I have taught him some things. I always try to explain to him why "we can't do this now because we have this going on." It's not always accepted. One thing I will for sure incorporate into the lives of my children is to be financially responsible and live within your means.
It kind of irks me that some people I work with sort of cop out from grown up responsibilities. One person I work with was laid off from her job. Not a cop out. But she moved in with her parents to "save money and maybe go back to school." When your at your parents house they typically cook and buy food for you, have laundry available, have hot water, a nice A/C for the house. So by living there you don't have bills to pay. Any money that comes in is all yours. This person pays her phone bill and a health insurance bill per month. Well wouldn't that be nice. She can afford to buy stuff from Coach, J Crew, Macy's etc. I am jealous that she has the money to do these things. I don't care about Coach or J Crew, but Macy's has cute things. It has been almost two years and she still hasn't "saved enough." This I know to be false because I make what she does. Anyway so I think its a cop out that a person my age won't get their own apartment and be an adult. Another thing my children will get a lesson on. Be an adult.
Amen. Thankfully, Mike and I have both grown up in that kind of lifestyle because I am a money-natzi. I just love the feeling of being financially stable and if something were to happen, we'd be fine for at least 3 or 4 months. I feel this is very important. Things will always be there. It's much more important to get the bills paid, and the people taken care of.
ReplyDeleteA few of my coworkers are always complaining about how much they make - they are correctional officers, and mind you, don't make a huge ton, but the things that I hear they spend their money on is a big red-flag to me. I'd hate to be in debt to various different people and not be in control of your own life. I strongly believe there should be required classes in high school on financial responsibilities seeing as more than half of the people I know don't understand a thing about it!