I am somewhat young (28). Financially, I am doing better than my friends. I attribute this because my mother was a bipolar money whacko. One day she was remodeling the house and having hardwood floors put in, the next day she was telling me she does not have the money to send me on the ski trip I had been planning to go on for the past few months.
As soon I was legally old enough to work, I got a job. I did not want to depend on my mother for anything financially, because either she would tell me she does not have the money for it, or I would get a huge guilt trip from her when she would pay for things.
Dealing with her financial mess has been one of the biggest lessons in my life. Her priorities were so out of whack financially I could never get a clear picture of what kind of money we had coming in. I was constantly told we were broke, she was too broke to visit me at college, she couldnt pay my college tuition, then coming home to visit I would see the house had been completely refurnished.
Now I am a bit of a money hord. I keep track of every dollar, and if my credit card balance creeps up beyond 1k I start having anxiety attacks. I have money in the bank, I have excellent credit, and I know I will be ok, but I dont think that was the proper way to teach a kid about money.
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