My son said to me the other day "I think I am going to have to sit down and make a budget." I nearly fainted. I have said that exact phrase to him many times -- "Sit down and make a budget. Figure out how much money comes in and what has to go out."
I had to do that when I started college at 18, although I resisted such a grownup step for months, until my father sternly made me sit down and learn how to balance my bank account.
Michael just recently started working a job where he gets about 35 hours a week, and he has a new/old car which needs some repairs, so life is busy and there is significant money to allocate for various things.
I was raised by a banker and so I should have absorbed budgetary lessons from childhood on, but I didn't. I remember once a month Dad demanded Mom give him her checkbook and he would sit and "reconcile the checkbook" -- which always meant they had a big fight. Dad was tight-fisted when it came to money. Mom was not extravagant, but she fought hard to get money out of him for things like school clothes for me and my brother. [Yes, we had "school clothes" and "play clothes" and they were not the same. We also had "church clothes." If those things don't date me, nothing will...]
Dad was born in 1930 and so his earliest memories were of my grandparents trying to live through the Great Depression. My grandfather was not an educated man, and he had worked many different kinds of jobs. From about 1933 until maybe 1939 or so he owned a tiny general store in downtown Hephzibah, Georgia. They had enough to eat, but things like shoes had to be bought and they didn't always have the money. Dad had two brothers. Sometimes Grandaddy would drive to Augusta and play pool, hustling enough money to buy shoes for his kids. I'm sure my very proper, churchgoing grandmother was appalled by that but what could she say? Times were hard.
My son has to learn how to manage money effectively or it will overwhelm him.
His earliest memories are not happy ones. His birthmom was an alcoholic who often left him alone and hungry for hours, or even days -- when he was under 8 years old. He never had enough to eat, and he never had toys. He usually only had one set of clothes. He remembers being homeless, and sleeping in haystacks, and being bathed in ponds. He knows how to use a washboard.
I was raised in a relatively stable, loving home, and I never lacked for necessities. My grandmother made my "school clothes" for years because it was less expensive than buying store bought dresses. We always had plenty to eat. Except for the monthly checkbook fight, my parents usually agreed on money matters.
I have to wonder how the new administration will affect my financial situation. I hope it won't usher in much higher taxes, but I imagine it will. I don't mind paying my fair share, but I will usually disagree with the government about that figure.
All children need to be taught financial responsibility, from an early age. I fear we aren't teaching basic math well enough. I can do math in my head pretty quickly but it seems like kids nowadays aren't taught that.
My dad never really taught me money management, although he always said "Don't live beyond your means."
Every high school senior should be taught how to do a budget and basic money management. If they were, a lot of problems would be avoided.
