Are you better at managing money than your children are, or in your youth?

bobcat

bobcat

Well-known Member
Location
Northern Calif
Perhaps it's just my view, but today's youth don't seem all that thrifty. They will spend $800 to $1800 on a new phone when you can buy a new smart phone for $160 that will do everything that theirs does. They complain about the high cost of living, but will spend anywhere from $600 to over $2000 going to the prom and renting limos. Some jeans for teens can cost anywhere from$75 to $175.

Maybe I just fit into the "OK Boomer" category they make fun of, but I'm glad now that I grew up poor. It has saved me a lot of money over the years not needing to overspend for things. If the value is there, I'm OK with it, but if it seems overpriced to me, it doesn't matter if I can afford it or not. I dunno, maybe I'm a dinosaur.
 

People always seem to find the time and money for the things that are important to them.

My mother was always a live today and let tomorrow take care of itself sort of person.

I was always fearful and insecure about tomorrow. šŸ˜‰šŸ¤­šŸ˜‚

None of it is right or wrong as long as you take responsibility for your choices and those choices donā€™t negatively impact others.
 
I don't have children, but I'm a far better money manger than my father. My grandfather was an excellent money manager. My father squandered any money he came by in a wild panic. I remember his words; "Money burns a hole in my pocket." I thought he was bragging at the time, but later I got to watch him in action. I don't know if it's a generational thing, or if we see what we see with different players involved.
 
bobcat said:
Perhaps it's just my view, but today's youth don't seem all that thrifty. They will spend $800 to $1800 on a new phone when you can buy a new smart phone for $160 that will do everything that theirs does. They complain about the high cost of living, but will spend anywhere from $600 to over $2000 going to the prom and renting limos. Some jeans for teens can cost anywhere from$75 to $175.

Maybe I just fit into the "OK Boomer" category they make fun of, but I'm glad now that I grew up poor. It has saved me a lot of money over the years not needing to overspend for things. If the value is there, I'm OK with it, but if it seems overpriced to me, it doesn't matter if I can afford it or not. I dunno, maybe I'm a dinosaur.
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Don't point fingers at the kids... it is their PARENTS buying them those things.
If they can afford it, why not?

Also, I do not see the youth complaining about the high cost of living.

I grew up dirt poor, and I am very good at saving/managing/spending money.
My kids grew up middle class, and they manage their finances better than I do.
Like JustDave, I don't see it as a generational thing.
 
I didn't find out until a couple of years ago that my dad was not very good with money when I was a kid. My mom and my dad would argue a lot and my sisters told me it was usually about money. My dad had a good job and earned well but I guess he overspent at at times to "keep up with the Joneses". It's only speculation but I am guessing that since he a a somewhat high profile job locally he felt the need to put up a good appearance. My mom was the opposite.

Sadly I inherited the spending habits of my dad when I got my first job and got married. My ex wife and I overspent to keep up appearances. The 80's was a decade of greed for many and I guess we wanted to fit in with the other "Yuppies". After my divorce I caught up with my financial situation and have been responsible since then.

I do not have children but I do know that my nephews and niece are more frugal than I ever was when I was their age. They are in their early 40's though. Their children seem to be the same way but they all are in grade school or high school so hard to tell how they will be once they do go out on their own.

I have no idea if all teens and young adults these days are good or bad with their money but I am guessing that it is a mixture of both, just like when I was in high school. Some kids I went to high school with were very spoiled and never had to work while going to high school.
 
Pepper said:
You mention proms & expensive clothing for teenagers. Since most teenagers don't have jobs, then it is their parents paying these high costs. You're looking at the wrong people.
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Probably true in some cases, but all of my grandkids have had jobs that actually paid quite well. Even babysitting has paid up to $25 an hour. They just live at home, so it's all disposable.
I had a job all through high school, and I spent it all on records, vehicles, dates, etc..., however, I was pretty careful about how I spent it. Also it didn't pay anything remotely close to today's standards.
 
bobcat said:
I had a job all through high school, and I spent it all on records, vehicles, dates, etc..., however, I was pretty careful about how I spent it. Also it didn't pay anything remotely close to today's standards.
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Hard to say compared to today's standards. One of the record stores I used to shop at in my teens was called Odyssey Records. They often had "Buy 3 records for $10 sales" I just checked and adjusted for inflation that total cost would have been around 3 records for $42 now. But when I was a teen I didn't have to pay rent or utilities. My only expenses were the ones that you mentioned so the sale seemed like a great deal for a teen :)
 
bobcat said:
Probably true in some cases, but all of my grandkids have had jobs that actually paid quite well. Even babysitting has paid up to $25 an hour. They just live at home, so it's all disposable.
I had a job all through high school, and I spent it all on records, vehicles, dates, etc..., however, I was pretty careful about how I spent it. Also it didn't pay anything remotely close to today's standards.
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When my son was a senior in High School, he told me the prom would cost minimum $1k. I told him to get a job. He didn't, and I didn't pay so he couldn't go. Guess he didn't want it badly enough.
 
MarkinPhx said:
Hard to say compared to today's standards. One of the record stores I used to shop at in my teens was called Odyssey Records. They often had "Buy 3 records for $10 sales" I just checked and adjusted for inflation that total cost would have been around 3 records for $42 now. But when I was a teen I didn't have to pay rent or utilities. My only expenses were the ones that you mentioned so the sale seemed like a great deal for a teen :)
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Good point. I guess what I was getting at is I will still buy the $160 phone that does everything the others do that cost 10 times as much, even though I can afford to buy the more expensive one. I'm not cheap, but it still makes no sense to me, but as I say, I'm probably just a dinosaur.
To be fair, I will spend more for a quality tool, but you can drop them off a roof (And I have), and abuse them (And I have), and they will still keep going, and are a pleasure to use.
 
I of course handle money much better than I did when I was young, but that's only because I have more now than then. I was still a good manager of money in those days, but there was very little , and so I robbed peter to pay Paul many times.

Today I'm a better manager... but nowhere nearly as good as my DD.. she's a superb money manager !..
 
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I was very lucky as a teen. My family had a lot so I did too and I spent it freely and enjoyed my teenage years. I did not go to my proms because they didn't interest me and I had a lot of boyfriends back then, not just one. I am much better with money now. I'm more responsible for sure. The cost of things was much more reasonable back when I was a teen than it is now as a percentage of one's income goes. I don't know how young people without really good jobs / careers even manage anymore.
 
My father was legally blind. He was employed but as you might imagine he was not on the high end of the pay scale. So growing up where all money was spent on needs, wants bought were few & far to be had. I think that set up my pattern for money management. That pattern along with my wifes similar raising set our money management style. That style made it possible to retire early 29 years ago, and buy wants whenever a want is chosen.

One son age 55 is retired & living off the grid. One son is still working with a very large investment portfolio & plans on retiring at age 62. One son is always broke looking to me & his brothers for a handout. 3 different lifestyles from the same kind of child raising.

As for what others are doing I really have no clue.
 
Most forum members can remember a time when wages and salaries were paid in cash. You physically saw how much you had, to get you through the week or month. Nowadays it's all loyalty cards and credit/debit cards and more recently, zap technology whereby you point your phone, watch or other gizmo at a reader and "zap," it's paid.

For me cash has always been king. Checking bank balance regularly and paying everything in the filthy folding stuff. At the risk of sounding boastful, I have never been in debt and I have never had to dread that monthly card bill.
 
My two and my husbandā€™s two are all spenders. They have good incomes. Hope the bottom line is balanced for all of them. Itā€™s not our job to make suggestions.
 

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