I came across this post the other day, and thought I'd share a few confessions of my own.
1. I have no concept of the real cost of college since mine was paid for entirely from scholarships. I was shocked when Andrew explained to me the price of his private school MBA.
2. When I was single and dating I always offered to pay, even when I was really young and didn't have the money.
3. The largest amount of money that was ever stolen from me was taken by a long term boyfriend. Who had plenty of his own.
4. Out of all the jobs that I've ever had, practicing architecture at a traditional office was my least favorite, in part because I negotiated a salary that was around thirty percent higher than nearly everyone else at the firm. And they all knew it.
5. Two years ago I missed out on a job in the last round of interviews when they found out how high my salary was at my previous job.
6. I once fronted a contractor $3000 in cash for work that he hadn't done. It was a few days before Christmas, and he told me that he needed it to buy his daughter presents and pay his rent. I never saw him again.
7. My freshman year in college, I was Christmas shopping with a wad of cash in my back pocket. At some point two men bumped into me and pick pocketed me. That money was every single dime I had in the world at the time. I was so upset and embarrassed.
8. In my twenties it wasn't uncommon for me to have up to $50,000 in credit card debt at any particular time. It was always composed of renovation expenses, put on zero percent interest rate cards, and paid off in months. We carry no credit card debt today, but unlike a lot of Americans, I don't think it's necessarily something to be frightened of.
9. I hate paying for valet. I'll walk six blocks wearing four inch heels in ninety degree weather before I'll pony up a twenty to have my car parked. I also refuse to pay for bad service. If I receive it even once, I never use that business again.
10. I sold dishes door-to-door one summer in college, and it was very humbling. A couple of years ago, a girl showed up at my office selling make-up. I overheard the secretary sending her away, because I was in a meeting. I stopped my meeting, ran out, caught her and bought three cases of cheap eyeshadow and clumpy mascara. She looked like she'd won the lottery.
So there are my confessions. What are yours?
Feel free to answer anonymously.
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19 people chimed in:
Very enlightening. I think selling something door-to-door is kind of like being a waiter which I did for 3 years in college. Hated every minute of it but it was the only way I had to make decent cash at the time. BUT, I always tip for good service and even tip for mediocre service because I know everyone has a bad day.
Melissa, I should have mentioned that when I say that I refuse to pay for bad service I meant more in terms of business customer service, not food industry service. But it still sort of applies. I always tip, but I won't EVER go back to a restaurant if I get bad service. It's a dealbreaker for me.
My parents paid for my college, but I went to a community college, and worked all 4 years and every summer, so I had a decent chunk of change saved up upon graduation... and now people try to make me feel guilty for it.
I'm pretty sure my boss holds a grudge against me because I was able to buy myself a new car and eventually a house shortly after graduating and he was 30somethin before he was able to (not that age matters, but apparently in his mind it does, he is always making snide comments to me about money and "well you just bought a new car so I don't feel sorry for you")
Miss Chelsea, your boss sounds like a schmuck. Pay him no attention. Also, I hope you got your parents something really nice for Christamas. And I hope the dog got a new Hanukkah toy.
I loved hearing this!
We have been living without heat for almost a month now because we don't have the money for it and our credit cards are maxed out. We have just been buying the bare necessities the past several weeks to try to make ends meet. But I found just enough room to buy my son a train set (his only Christmas gift) last night....I cried when I bought it because I was so excited I finally had a gift for him- and he seriously is obsessed with trains.
ANYWAYS...I'm looking forward to the New Year, budgeting, and hopefully getting the heat fixed! = )
There's my confession. haha!
When I was a waitress, I watched every dime. I saw every amount of money in terms of numbers of tables- that $10 shirt was 2 tables. We got 50% off food at the restaurant, but I very, very rarely bought it. One time I was so hungry I rang myself up a $5 kids' meal. When I asked my boss to discount it, he opened the computer and scoffed and refused to discount such a small amount. I was so mad, because dammit, it was hard enough for me to spend the $2.50! Some of my worst memories take place in that restaurant, so now I totally overcompensate when tipping.
Thanks for the insight into your money confessions!
Before our electric company installed "smart meters" (which show a digital reading instead of the normal spinning wheel kind) my husband took a piece of copper wire, heated it and poked a hole through the plastic meter cover. He would stick an metal wire in there to stop the wheel while he was welding in our garage. We've saved HUNDREDS on our electric bill and I hope we don't go to hell for screwing over the elestric company.
-you know who ; )
Wow--thanks for sharing. You seem so down to earth and I love it!
Kelly! I love this. I wish more women would talk about money more often. I'm going to do a post inspired by this.
But for now... my money confessions are:
• When I worked as a waitress I'd rather be stiffed than receive something like a $.34¢ tip.
• I'll spend hundreds on jeans or trousers but never more than $30 on a top.
• I used to practice "intuitive banking" - I hated looking at my account and could kind of just *feel* if I was cutting it close or had a little extra fun money.
I cannot believe people tip like that. Seriously.
Agree with 1, 2, very similar experience to 7, and 9.
Let's see - what else..
Being humbled - At one point, everything I owned fit in my car. And I stayed with friends for a full month after moving states and job searching after college. My bills (which were essentials) were less than my income. I know what it means to be broke and not have money to buy groceries until your next paycheck.
I've been building my savings ever since that stage of my life (above), and get really nervous if something threatened the safety net I've built up.
I've never asked for help, financially, from my family. They would help me out without question, but I have a lot of pride about money for some reason.
I have bought a new things on no-interest cards (couch, camera, fence materials). I hate it. I always pay everything off in 6 months because it drives me crazy knowing I have that debt out there, even if it's not really costing me anything since it's interest-free.
I don't know if I can ever buy a new car. I just see it as such a waste of money.
I can't believe how much money you've had stolen. I would probably be in the nuthouse if I had thousands taken from me. I do have to say that most people with 50k in credit card debt would not be able to get out of that hole. Not everyone is as smart as you! Well, except me....clearly! ha
Well, it wasn't really a hole, Sara. It was more like I'd throw ten or twenty on when I was doing a project to get points or 3% or 6% off or whatever and I'd pay it off a couple of months later. It was more like juggling my available credit and cash to negotiate discounts and other stuff.
And I've had way more stolen then I mentioned. Maybe I'll post about it some time.
Oh, and I've wised up a hair. So if there are any punk asses out there reading this and getting all giddy over my heartland raised naivete, don't waste your time. I have four dogs and a husband who's good with a baseball bat.
Really.
I loved reading this!
This was a great post! Like Sara, I'd be in the nuthouse if I'd had that much stolen from me!
Right after Sam got his engineering degree in '02, we took a celebratory trip to Disney on our clean credit cards. We had nothing in the bank, I was working part time. A week after we got back, Sam was laid off (with 75% of his company), and we tanked financially BIG TIME as he spent months looking for a job. We lost the car, our credit, everything but the house, which just wasn't happening in this momma's eyes. I learned a lot of lessons then, and we have paid for cars, paid off cards, and no debt except the house. And I've NEVER charged a vacation since.
I had part of my undergraduate degree paid for and all of my graduate degree on academic scholarship. I always worked at least 1 job, usually more, while in school though. It made life much easier and I was able to do a lot more than most students would have been able to. I constantly got flack for it from my friends and some fellow students. We decided to build our 'forever home' last year on one income while I was still a grad student. Likely not the best decision but the timing seemed right. We sold our other home for nearly 3x what we had paid so put all of that money into our acreage (160 acres), acreage toys (bobcat, tractor, gigantic workshop) and new home. I LOVE it. Hopefully my idea of forever doesn't change when I turn 30...or...I better not go there. I tease my husband about doing some things differently when we build our next house. He doesn't find it funny. I don't know why. I guess we'll be renovating and not building new. ;)
Most recently I learned never to spend or count on money that has yet to hit your bank account. I lost out on a $25,000 bursary/grant for a 'return in service' agreement through my current employer (which we would have used to pay down our current mortgage and go on a holiday) because my graduate program f'd me over and delayed my defense and graduation. Did I mention that the delay was for no good reason other than bureaucratic b.s.? (I'm just a little bitter). I'm still waiting and it's been almost a year. RI-DIC-U-LOUS. Having Dr. in front of my name had better be worth it.
I did the door-to-door thing too, but for the Sierra Club, not selling anything. It was horrid, but a really great learning experience (for the two weeks I lasted). I also spent about a millisecond in a job where I had to call people and try to sell them photography packages. Again, horrid. I am now always, ALWAYS polite to telemarketers, unless/until they're impolite to me.
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