Learning the value of money
- Author: FruGal
- Filed under: financial goals, savings
Nov 12,2009
A close friend of my family recently finished school. Instead of going straight onto further study she has decided to take a year out to do some travelling. She has her sights set on South America and is getting really excited, planning and preparing for her trip.
It made me all nostalgic, remembering my first big trip away from home, with nothing but a backpack and my Lonely Planet guide for company. Seems like a long time ago now!
I have to admit though, I was a little taken aback at dinner the other night when it was revealed that her parents are paying for the whole thing. She is being given six thousand pounds. No strings, not as a loan, just as a gift. What?!
Good for them for wanting to help their daughter out; if they can afford to give their daughter six grand for her to go off and enjoy herself for six months, why not? But it did get me wondering whether they are doing their daughter any favours by bank-rolling her first foray into adult independence.
When I decided to backpack through Europe at the age of 19, my parents were happy and excited for me, and encouraged me to go off and have an adventure. For my birthday present they gave me the return plane ticket, but other than that, I was on my own. No hand outs, no loans. I spent six months slogging it out in my part time job, often working up to 45 hours a week (while studying at university), saving as much money as I could in order to afford to go.
While I was saving up, my friends were spending all their money on nice clothes, make-up and partying. And I worked and saved, and stayed home on Saturday nights and felt sorry for myself and my self-imposed lack of social life.
But when I got off that plane, man did I enjoy myself. All those hours of working and studying until I was dead on my feet were suddenly worth it. I had earned this and I was going to enjoy the hell out of it! I have spent much of my life since then travelling, but I still look back on that particular trip and feel so proud of myself for enabling myself to save that money and go.
And while I’m sure back then I must have hinted once or twice to my parents that a deposit into my travel fund would be more than welcome, I realised the other night how glad I am that I did it all on my own. My young friend is going to go and have an amazing time, but will she learn anything from it? Will she learn the value of saving, planning and how great it feels to do something on your own and achieve a financial goal? The lessons I learnt from that experience are important to me, and have probably influenced my money habits in more ways than I even know.
What do you think? Will you help your kids out money-wise or make them learn the value of things on their own?
(Photo by Ferran.)
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7 Responses for "Learning the value of money"
Great Post and a big WOW for the American Express points, I must check out my Nectar! I have just done a post about Christmas shopping that may be usefull to you and your readers xx
I, too, worked and saved for my first big backpacking trip through Europe. An aunt gave me $300. I did stay at an uncle’s house for 2 weeks out of the 3 month trip. Other than that, I saved every dime and planned everything on my own. I think it makes a HUGE difference whether you do it on your own or if your parents bankroll it. Either way, you’ll have a wonderful time. However, if you pay your own way, you gain a confidence that will carry you through life! And that’s priceless…
i will teach my kids about money and its value as soon as they can understand what words mean. So that if for some reason i decide to bankroll some crazy stunt like a trip away from home when they are twenty, they will not think that i have a money tree growing somewhere in my back yard or something. It is important to teach kids about money when they are young and impressionable since we all know how hard bad habits are to break
We are already teaching our five year old about working for money and how to divide her money between spending, saving for big purchases, saving to invest, and giving. I think we would probably be somewhere in the middle on this…I would love to help her out (if she is financially responsible to begin with), but I think she should also work and save herself as well.
I don’t know if I’m in the minority here, but I think it’s fine. If her parents can afford it and she has shown to be financially responsible with the resources she has (either given or earned), then it’s a fabulous gift and she will have a wonderful experience.
People who come from middle-class or upper-middle-class backgrounds already have so many advantages in monetary terms that a 6,000 pound gift won’t turn someone with a good head on their shoulders into a spoiled brat. If she is ungrateful and unappreciative, it won’t because of this gift.
And yes, I am just a teeny bit envious.
I’m a bit torn on this one. On the one hand, I agree with well-heeled blog. I know a friend of mine who’s so responsible with money that she might be handed that same amount for her trip and come back with half of it, to save. So I think a lot of it has to do with how well that person handles money to begin with.
On the other hand, there’s nothing quite like enjoying the fruit of your labor. Working for something and finally achieving that goal. It’s something that builds character and that no one can really fully appreciate until you experience it yourself
[...] admin on November 15, 2009 Easy AdSense by UnrealFruGal has a post up about learning the value of money. She remembers how hard it was when she, at age 19, scrimped and saved all by herself for a [...]
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