View Full Version : Your biggest purchase (as a kid) with money earned/saved?
Was just thinking about all the years I put in (as a kid/teen) doing odd jobs and things to earn money, and what I did with the money.
Owning a brand spanking new 10 speed bike had been a dream of mine for forever, and after working diligently as a babysitter for several years and saving much of the money I earned, I made a withdrawl of my bank account and bought my dream bike!
What's your story?
ToomuchStuff
2-8-13, 12:25am
As a kid, I never really earned money. Between the paranoia after being abducted when little (didn't want us to wander), and a relative that they did worry about (a different story), the biggest thing I did was mow my grandparents lawn. That money was put into tools and things I used to work on their house.
Lawn mowing might have been an option, if I had saved up and bought my own mower, and had a place to keep it. (dad didn't like people using his tools, and didn't want our stuff in the way)
When I turned 16 and got my first job, my big expenditure, was car insurance. (brother had all but got my parents canceled so I got my own policy) I also got my first car, but that was from my grandmother.
My next big expenditures, were gas and music.
Prior to working, as a kid, if I wanted something, I learned you had to choose between eating lunch at school, or saving that money for stuff (movie, item or whatever).
Not the fun stuff your probably hoping for.
Wildflower
2-8-13, 12:53am
I remember saving my allowance for like forever when I was about 8 years old, and finally being able to buy some of those metal skates that fit on my shoes, they came with a key that you wore around your neck on a string or chain. :) Anyone remember those?
When I was a teenager I always bought my own clothes with the money saved from my summer jobs, and my senior year I bought my own class ring, which as I remember was a big deal at the time. Now I don't even know where it's at. :(
ToomuchStuff. Love your story! Doubly love that you helped your grandparents!
Wildflower. Yes... I remember those old roller skates with the key! I also bought all my clothes as a teen, even when I was younger, too. This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p02DgHeGdyI) ones for you!
Nothing. I didn't get an allowance and work done around the house/farm was done because that's what family members do and with so much work to do on the farm, working elsewhere was not even a consideraiton. I remember friends getting allowances and saving for and getting special things they wanted but that wasn't the case in our family.
I had a lawn mowing/snow blowing business when I was a kid so saved up a fair amount of money. About a week before my 16th birthday I went to the local car lot and told them I wanted to buy the (used) 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T they had. I gave them a $20 down payment and they called my Dad to make sure it was ok. Small town, they all knew each other, plus I mowed the car dealer's lawn. They cleaned and polished the car and Dad took me back there on my 16th birthday and I wrote a check for that car. I wish I still had it!
1134
I never had any money as a kid, either. In high school, I was involved in tons of committees, and didn't want to sacrifice that. In the summer, my "job" was to be a companion to Aunt Florence at the beach. She bought me what I needed. But she would give me a "bonus" at the end of the summer, which was really very small--like $50. I thought it was a huge amount of money and tried to save it up for a Sunfish, but that didn't transpire.
When I got my first job out of college, though, one of my big purchases was a winter coat. It took me three months to save up. Gee, now that I think about it, except for the house and my Prius, I've made very few large purchases. My first car was a $100 hand-me-down from my cousin. They really could have written "Second Hand Rose" for me.. but I never minded. I like getting stuff second hand. It's easier to make decisions.
I don't remember for myself, but I remember that my brother saved his allowance for months (maybe years?) to buy a very realistic looking toy gun and he was a pretty little kid, I'm thinking 6 or 7. Tenacious, he was.
My mother was of the "guns are bad" mindset and didn't buy him any as toys.
My grown up brother has handguns as well as hunting guns, and when he had a sudden windfall he paid for a lifetime membership to the NRA.
This may or may not illustrate that you can take the gun away from the boy but you can't keep the boy away from the guns, or something like that.
Hmm ... never had much money as a kid and didn't do a lot of work for others which would get paid. So I can't think of any pricey purchases until I was 17 and I persuaded the Bank of Mom & Dad to loan me enough money to buy the stereo receiver of my (then) dreams, which was on sale for a price I'd never seen before or since. Lots of odd jobs paid that one back.
I still have the receiver in my "office". I'm not quite sure what that says about me. I know I still enjoy listening to it. I know I can't really consider selling it.
We had a christmas tree farm, I would get $1 per tree I sold. (when we started off it was $5 up to 5 ft +$1 per foot after that) so $1 per tree was pretty good but that not only covered my selling, helping to saw or dragging a tree to a car, it also covered the hot work of summer-time tree care. I remember the first year I was pretty excited to shop on my own and buy gifts for my family but I also had enough to buy a new saddle pad. I really wanted a red/black one for the black saddle I used. I was probably 5th grade.
treehugger
2-8-13, 11:23am
I started babysitting at age 11, or so, and kept it up steadily right up until I was finally allowed to get a real job (age 15, with a catering company), so I always had some money that I had earned, and I was good at saving it. I remembering a "big" purchase of a soft, fuzzy blanket with horses on it, when I was 12. Fleece was a really new thing then, and I loved that blanket with all my heart. I slept under it each night, and used it on the couch on winter evenings. I even took it to summer camp, where it picked up thousands of brambles. I still have that blanket, and I still use it on the couch in the evenings. :)
Kara
I had a baseball glove when I was a kid, but I left it out in the rain like an irresponsible ninny, and my mom said if I wanted a new one I had to get it with my own money. I saved allowance, birthday money, etc. for a long time and got an awesome Wilson glove for $27, which was a lot back then. I think I was about 10.
Speaking of saving up while young, I'm going to be an obnoxious parent and tell a story about my two youngest kids that shows how we are all so different in our attitudes about money--even at a really early age.
As some of you know, two of my kids were into acting when they were young. One of my sons was in a movie that was shot in Iris Lily's turf: St. Louis. We (me, my 7 year old son and 6 year old daughter) lived in the Hyatt Hotel in Union Station for three months. The movie studio gave us what they call "per diem" which is like an allowance for living expenses. Well, we literally lived in a mall, and I could see how that could be problematic, so I told the kids that they would get an allowance of $5 a week.
My daughter had seen a fancy Little Mermaid pencil case in the Disney Store that was $30. It had little buttons you pushed and little compartments would pop out. She thought it was so cool, but I told her she had to save up for it. So those 5 dollar bills started accumulating in her wallet over the next few weeks.
My son on the other hand was drawn to everything he saw. He would ask me for "advances" on his allowance to buy things that he very quickly forgot about. He never saved a cent.
When DD had her $30 saved up, six weeks later (what an eternity for a 6-year old!), I took her down to the Disney Store to buy the pencil case. She ran up to the rack. Then she stopped dead in her tracks. She looked in her wallet. Looked back at the pencil case. Looked back in her wallet. And then she said, "No, I don't want it." She still had the $30 when we left St. Louis.
Just goes to show how people just are hard-wired to be either delayed or immediate gratification kind of people.
Am I ever cherishing this thread!!!
What a lovely story, Catherine! Even though I wanted that 10 speed bike SO BAD, it was harder than I thought, to actually withdraw the money from my account and hand it over. I had many moments where I was torn as to what to do... So glad the bike won over.
early morning
2-8-13, 7:32pm
I got an allowance (25 cents a week!), money for gifts from grandparents, and 10 cents for making my brother's bed on days he "forgot". My grandfather saved newspapers and when he had a couple bundles, sold them to the rag man, and gave me the money. That was a couple dollars several times a year. Dad always gave us kids $25 before Christmas so we could buy gifts. It didn't take me long to realize I could make many gifts and save the money - mom let me bake cookies, and my cousin and I made candles with paraffin, crayons, and string. I seldom spent anything because I wanted a horse, and my dad had promised that if we moved to a large enough place I could have one, if I bought it myself. We did move when I was 9 (interstate highway came through) and I had three hundred dollars saved, enough for the big Appaloosa gelding I fell in love with. He was my buddy for the next 10 years.
I purchased a HP19C programmable calculator, $345 in 1977. I did a lot of programming on this fellow:
http://www.hpmuseum.org/19.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-19C
I purchased a HP19C programmable calculator
My man!! I still have my 29c. I don't program it anymore but I do use it for random calculations at my desk. RPN forever! :)
Wildflower. Yes... I remember those old roller skates with the key! I also bought all my clothes as a teen, even when I was younger, too. This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p02DgHeGdyI) ones for you!
Thanks, Mrs-M! Love that song and hadn't heard it in a long time! :) Brings back good memories...
Speaking of Melanie, the singer of the song, recently turned 65. Boy, does time pass by so quickly! She is still performing at small venues. I was probably one of her biggest fans from her Woodstock days.
My grandfather would give his grandchildren $1 a week. I was always a saver and would rarely spend it. I do remember buying myself a thing so you could play tennis by yourself. It was a tennis ball attached to a base by a rubber band. Guess I had no one to play tennis with.
My first job was during high school and I scraped and saved enough money to buy my first car, a 1980 Pontiac Sunbird, for $1200, and my own insurance.
Nowadays I can't think of anything I really want that I would have to save up for.
awakenedsoul
2-9-13, 4:32pm
Great thread. I made a lot of money as a kid. I had to pay for my own dance classes and costumes, so I babysat every weekend and taught and assisted classes at the studio from age 13 on through high school. I also had a dance class in our living room every Sat. morning. I charged $1.00 a student and made $20.00 a class! Soon I had to add a second class. All the babysitting moms sent their daughters to me. I saved up my money and bought a moped for $500.00 when I turned 15. That way I was able to "drive" to school and to dance classes. It was a huge deal to me at the time.
Nursing school. I saved enough for the first 2 yearswhile working in highschool and worked weekends in a nursing home the first two years, which paid for the last year. I basically worked every single day for the 3 years I was in school.
Ohhh... do I ever love this thread! Thanks everybody for all the great stories!
Originally posted by Wildflower.
Thanks, Mrs-M! Love that song and hadn't heard it in a long time! Brings back good memories...
Speaking of Melanie, the singer of the song, recently turned 65. Boy, does time pass by so quickly! She is still performing at small venues.Hadn't heard it in a long time either. Takes me w-a-y back... So neat-O hearing that shes still alive and well, and performing.
Wow, awakenedsoul....a moped! How cool!
I babysat, picked berries and beans and later worked at a cannery when I was a kid, so did earn quite a bit. Probably my biggest purchase was my 1963 Plymouth Fury I bought when I was a junior. Used, of course. I think it was $200, from a guy who was drafted and headed to Vietnam.
I also remember being pretty proud of buying my own stereo with turntable and headphones!
KayLRZ. Having ones very own stereo/receiver/turntable (back in the day), was it! No more sitting in front of the family console unit to listen to that favourite vinyl record!
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