Does Your Financial Past Affect You Today?
Today, Lynnae at Being Frugal posted an article about how her financial background affects her still today.
This article really made me think of my own financial background and I realized a lot of my former outlook on finance was directly related to my past. Before I was married and before I became a Mommy, I put a lot of emphasis on my possessions. I wanted the “best” of everything and this usually meant the most expensive everything. I had the money to spend(waste), so why not?
I grew up without really knowing what kind of financial situation my family was in, and it wasn’t until I was a teenager that I understood. The first 10 or so years of my life, our family was what I would consider poor. I didn’t know it at the time, I was a happy little girl and I had a wonderful family and money didn’t concern me. Being poor with little resources and nothing “new” is not what affected me the most, it was the financial turnaround that did.
Once my family’s finances lifted to a solid upper-middle class level, it was obvious my parents were making up for the past. Everything was new and shiny - new house, new cars, new clothes. Plenty to spend and no reason to worry.
This “have it all” mentality affected me more than anything, because every wish was granted. When I was really young, we didn’t have much, so everything was appreciated. A pack of gum was cause for a celebration, seriously. Once we had everything, it was never enough. GIMME GIMME was what I learned.
Unfortunately for my husband, I initially brought this school of thought into our marriage. I had learned to expect “the best” and I don’t think I ever even looked at price tags. We had tons of money, so I was going to spend it.
Fortunately for me, my husband stashed away a good amount of cash before I quit working. This was our lifesaver. I had to learn the world of finance the hard way and it was nice to have that cushion there every time I fell flat on my face. My husband was patient with me and we learned to work on my issues as a team.
Looking back, it makes me sick to think of all the money I wasted on useless garbage on those few years I was out on my own, but I am still glad to have the experience to look back on. I can use this experience as a lesson in what NOT to do with money and hopefully use this to raise my children to be more financially responsible than I was. I still like to have nice, new things, but I have learned do understand the difference between a want and a need. I have learned that we don’t “need it all” to be happy and I will NEVER pay full price for anything again.
The craziest thing about my experience is that if my family had never become “wealthy” I would have grown up to be much more financially responsible.
Live and Learn.
How does your financial past affect you today?
Topics: Finance & Money, Life & Family |
January 24th, 2008
I really enjoyed reading this… it makes you stop and think about some of the financial choices we’ve all made over the years.
Jessica’s last blog post..Valentine?s Day is fast approaching..
January 24th, 2008
I was just stopping by to show some comment luv.. I come by to your blog all the time (normally looking for tips!!
)
I love the new look! Great Job!!
Kim’s last blog post..Thursday Thirteen - Volume 2
January 24th, 2008
Thanks! I was so jealous of your spiffing up I had to do my own!
Take Care!
January 24th, 2008
Jessica-
I am glad you enjoyed the article!
January 26th, 2008
I’m glad you enjoyed my post. Sometimes it’s hard to look back, isn’t it? But that’s the way we learn.
And I’m not sure about your last statement, at least for me. My family never did become wealthy, but when my husband was making good money, we went a little wild, just because I’d never been able to freely spend before. Hopefully my kids will learn from my mistakes.
Lynnae @ Being Frugal.net’s last blog post..You Tell Me: Frugal Family Fun
January 26th, 2008
Lynnae-
I really like your article because it made me re-think some of my past.
As far as my last statement-When we had NO money, I learned to appreciate it, When we had ALOT of money, I took it for granted. If I had stayed with the former mentality, I would have been better off, I think.
Take Care
LJ
March 29th, 2008
[…] article “Does your financial past affect you today?” is included among the submissions and I am so happy to be a part of this […]