Jobs can be pretty important to teenagers. After all, you need to have some spending money, right? In our family we did get an allowance starting quite young, where we were free to choose how to spend our 25 cents or a dollar, or whatever the amount was. We were encouraged to pay tithing of 10% to the church, and to put some aside in savings. When we started 4-H at about eight years old, Daddy gifted us a young heifer calf as a 4-H project. When the calf became a cow, the profits from the milk produced by our cow would take the place of our allowance. Most of the time this was a rather hefty allowance increase, but we were also expected to pay for most of our own expenses such as school clothes and supplies, in addition to whatever else we wanted or needed. Regular chores didn't earn us extra money, but helping with hauling the hay did. I didn't have regular babysitting jobs like some other girls in town, but there were a couple of families that did call me to babysit from time to time, so I did earn some money that way.
My first "real" job besides babysitting and hauling hay was doing some data entry work for the local telephone company one summer when they needed some extra help. The owner of the company contacted our high school business teacher, and she recommended me and another of my FBLA friends for the job. It only lasted a week or two until their regular billing system up and running, but I did get a taste for what it would be like to work a full time job . . . which I didn't ever have until after the youngest of my 6 children entered kindergarten.
Did you have an allowance growing up? What was your first job or way of earning money?
I don't remember having any allowance. My sister and I shared a paper route when I was very young, so that was our spending money. What a long time ago!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog!
Doesn't Speak Klingon
Since we didn't raise our own children on the farm, we did do the paper route with our sons for a good many years. They would deliver the weekday papers themselves since that was an afternoon delivery in our neighborhood, but on Sundays and Thanksgiving Day (with the huge thanksgiving ads) I would usually drive so we could all be done and ready for church on time. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteFrom about 3rd grade I always got a small allowance, but my mother was always good about buying me things I wanted or needed. I'm glad my parents didn't make me buy my own clothes or school supplies, but that would probably have been a good finance lesson. In my early years and into college I would work with my parents in a juggling act where I earned enough for a lot of extras and my savings. Once I started college I worked jobs to pay my way through. All the work has been good life experience.
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
Tossing It Out
I'm glad that were always able to have the things you wanted or needed. Our parents were also very generous with our "earnings" and I very rarely felt I didn't have what I needed, even though sometimes I may have had to make some difficult choices between conflicting wants when there just wasn't quite enough to do or buy everything on the list. Thanks for stopping by!
Delete