Long Version
You’re about to get more information about me than you want, but hey, you did click on the longer version.
Childhood
Growing up money was never really talked about in my family. I had everything I needed and was able to do any sport or activity I wanted and I am very grateful for that. But the older I get I hear more stories of what it was like, whether it is my mom saying we lived just above the poverty line or stuff like cloth diapers were used to save money. That is a whole other level of dedication!
My dad was a Pastor until I was about 6, then laid tile, and is a teacher now. My mom has worked in various settings as a nurse but mostly has been in hospice. When I was growing up she worked nights so she could send us off to school and be there when we got home.
From early on my brother and I knew that if we wanted something we had to pay for it; whether that was basketball cards, hot wheels, legos, or later on, video game systems or TVs. We definitely learned the value of money. You may ask, ‘How did you get money?’. We earned a set allowance from the chores we did. Which is pretty normal but that didn’t work for me. Even then I was trying to find a way to earn more than what “The Man” was paying me! I talked my parents into every chore having a value ranging from 5 cents to $1 this way I controlled my income. From the beginning, I was hustlin’. My brother and I would also go to construction sites to collect empty cans to recycle for money. Then later on, during the summers, I helped my dad lay tile. I can remember being 10-13 years old, waking up before the sunrise, so I could carry tile up to the second story of a home that did not have air conditioning, while it was 115 degrees, all for four dollars an hour. That’s how most kids spent their summer right? Right?!
Childhood
Growing up money was never really talked about in my family. I had everything I needed and was able to do any sport or activity I wanted and I am very grateful for that. But the older I get I hear more stories of what it was like, whether it is my mom saying we lived just above the poverty line or stuff like cloth diapers were used to save money. That is a whole other level of dedication!
My dad was a Pastor until I was about 6, then laid tile, and is a teacher now. My mom has worked in various settings as a nurse but mostly has been in hospice. When I was growing up she worked nights so she could send us off to school and be there when we got home.
From early on my brother and I knew that if we wanted something we had to pay for it; whether that was basketball cards, hot wheels, legos, or later on, video game systems or TVs. We definitely learned the value of money. You may ask, ‘How did you get money?’. We earned a set allowance from the chores we did. Which is pretty normal but that didn’t work for me. Even then I was trying to find a way to earn more than what “The Man” was paying me! I talked my parents into every chore having a value ranging from 5 cents to $1 this way I controlled my income. From the beginning, I was hustlin’. My brother and I would also go to construction sites to collect empty cans to recycle for money. Then later on, during the summers, I helped my dad lay tile. I can remember being 10-13 years old, waking up before the sunrise, so I could carry tile up to the second story of a home that did not have air conditioning, while it was 115 degrees, all for four dollars an hour. That’s how most kids spent their summer right? Right?!
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I also learned how to stretch a dollar. Growing up my parents would give us a dollar limit when it was time to buy something we needed. For back to school clothes shopping they would say, ‘You have $100. Anything you spend over you have to pay for, anything under you get to keep.’ I got good at finding brand names in the clearance section as I wanted the left over cash. It goes without saying I never had the new Jordan’s.
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I always wanted the Space Jam Jordan 11s. I unknowingly bought myself a pair of knock offs in High School. The logo having 4 fingers was a dead give away..
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As I look back now, I notice tricks they did to save money because as my dad says, they always lived within their means and avoided debt. As kids my brother and I would get a $0.99 cone from McDonalds and play on the play feature. Which is great but we would also get AC during the summer days. It was nice that my mom was there to send us off in the mornings and be there after school but it also saved on childcare. My mom packed my lunch until I was a senior in High School. We almost never went out to eat but went back East every summer to see family. Scheming and prioritizing was engrained in me and those are still my philosophies now.
Young adult
I was 15 when I got my first job, and from that point on, I’ve consistently held one to three jobs at a time. High school was my one brief flirtation with materialism. I regularly bought new clothes but that was as crazy as it got. I never fully dove in because I was still saving out of habit.
Once I started my undergraduate degree I moved out and slide back into a frugal lifestyle like an old pair of shoes. The money I made over the summer paid for my fall tuition, I could cover my living expenses working throughout the year and then used student loans for my spring tuition. The cycle repeated every year. I was frugal to the point that I can remember friends being annoyed that I wouldn’t go out to eat with them. I didn’t have the money, but I also wouldn’t have spent it anyways. I ended up leaving with an undergraduate degree and about 18k in student loan debt.
For graduate school I went out of state and my frugality skills reached new heights. Before I moved I bought a Toyota Camry that was 4 years old. I still have that car 6+ years later and hope to for 6+ more. Blue Lightning, my electric blue Pontiac Grand AM (with a spoiler and tow hitch), had about 150k miles and shook once I hit 65 mph. I didn’t feel the best about driving her across the country. I maxed out my student loans which covered, essentially, my tuition each semester and my monthly car payment. I worked part time throughout graduate school and was struggling to pay my $450 monthly rent and $160 on food. I know it was $160 on food because I went on food stamps for my second year of graduate school. When I say struggling I mean less than a couple hundred dollars to my name and doing the classic poor college student thing of donating plasma. I left with about 52k in student loan debt and 10k in car debt.
I was 15 when I got my first job, and from that point on, I’ve consistently held one to three jobs at a time. High school was my one brief flirtation with materialism. I regularly bought new clothes but that was as crazy as it got. I never fully dove in because I was still saving out of habit.
Once I started my undergraduate degree I moved out and slide back into a frugal lifestyle like an old pair of shoes. The money I made over the summer paid for my fall tuition, I could cover my living expenses working throughout the year and then used student loans for my spring tuition. The cycle repeated every year. I was frugal to the point that I can remember friends being annoyed that I wouldn’t go out to eat with them. I didn’t have the money, but I also wouldn’t have spent it anyways. I ended up leaving with an undergraduate degree and about 18k in student loan debt.
For graduate school I went out of state and my frugality skills reached new heights. Before I moved I bought a Toyota Camry that was 4 years old. I still have that car 6+ years later and hope to for 6+ more. Blue Lightning, my electric blue Pontiac Grand AM (with a spoiler and tow hitch), had about 150k miles and shook once I hit 65 mph. I didn’t feel the best about driving her across the country. I maxed out my student loans which covered, essentially, my tuition each semester and my monthly car payment. I worked part time throughout graduate school and was struggling to pay my $450 monthly rent and $160 on food. I know it was $160 on food because I went on food stamps for my second year of graduate school. When I say struggling I mean less than a couple hundred dollars to my name and doing the classic poor college student thing of donating plasma. I left with about 52k in student loan debt and 10k in car debt.
This is about where I lived for two years on a good month.
Adulthood
Prior to starting my career I was an aquatics director. I will never forget that feeling of working 40 hours a week at $12 an hour. I was making more in one week than I had in my bank account, I'm rich!
My first professional job was as a Speech Language Pathologist in a school. The pay structure was to receive one paycheck, on the last business day of all 12 months. This made creating and following a budget extremely easy. I would pay off all my bills and transfer money into savings on the first and the remainder was all I had left for the month.
As the years progressed I would get minimal raises and each time I would adjust my budget accordingly. I keep my “fun money” about the same amount, or even reduced it on occasion and would increase savings or loan payments. It wasn't all boring though. I chose what mattered to me and spent accordingly. I’ve lived in Brooklyn, New York for a summer and backpacked Europe for 8 weeks. It did help that my flight to Europe and back was basically free by using travel reward points.
Prior to starting my career I was an aquatics director. I will never forget that feeling of working 40 hours a week at $12 an hour. I was making more in one week than I had in my bank account, I'm rich!
My first professional job was as a Speech Language Pathologist in a school. The pay structure was to receive one paycheck, on the last business day of all 12 months. This made creating and following a budget extremely easy. I would pay off all my bills and transfer money into savings on the first and the remainder was all I had left for the month.
As the years progressed I would get minimal raises and each time I would adjust my budget accordingly. I keep my “fun money” about the same amount, or even reduced it on occasion and would increase savings or loan payments. It wasn't all boring though. I chose what mattered to me and spent accordingly. I’ve lived in Brooklyn, New York for a summer and backpacked Europe for 8 weeks. It did help that my flight to Europe and back was basically free by using travel reward points.
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I eventually moved back to my home town and started house hacking a quadruplex in a gentrifying part of town. I slowly increased the rents, which allowed me to live for free. I still paid into the business to build my reserves, pay for repairs, and remain in the habit of paying rent.
Once I had the real estate bug I wanted more houses but was priced out of where I lived and eventually bought a house out of state, in Independence, Missouri. My brother lives in Kansas City so it works out. This brings us up to date. In 2019, I will have all my student loan/car debt paid off. I’m going to Asia for a month, plan to buy a single family house for myself (and get a backyard for my dog Harper), scheme up ways to buy more rental properties, help people get into a better financial situation, and share and hear travel stories. |
Harper at 9 weeks enjoying a real backyard, she deserves one of her own!
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Hopefully I’ll be filling in the gaps and providing details through my posts but if there is something you want to know or a story you’d like to share, please reach out!
Jake (3/24/19)
Jake (3/24/19)