Earlier You Work, Bigger the Mustache

[codyandrew77]

Greeting fellow Mustachians.

As far back as I can remember I have had a distaste for wasting money.

At the age of 6 I desperately wanted a Gameboy Colour with Pokemon Yellow Version, but I had no money. At the time, most of my friends seemed to have all the coolest gadgets (Nintendo, pet gecko, trampoline, nerf gun) but all I had was a dirty old pair of overalls. I asked my parents if I could get these cool toys but they simply responded with "How? With what money? You should probably get a job". Thus similar to our messiah Mr.MM, in order to save money as a young boy I had to deliver papers every day after school through the harsh Canadian tundra. And after nearly 6 months of hard work I was able to purchase my beloved Gameboy.

From a very young age I learned how to "earn" the things I wanted in life. And it is because of those long treacherous hikes through -30 degree weather, I will be FI by the age of 30.

Thanks Mom and Dad.


If anyone else cares to share how their parents influenced their mustachianism (for better or worse), please share below!

[chicagomeg]

My parents taught me to save, even when you feel like you can't afford it. They have never made over $50k, but they started putting $75/week in my dads 401k in 1991 when the company started the plan. It's not much but it will be enough to supplement their SS, which should mostly cover expenses. They also have two paid for cars (Corollas, of course!), an almost paid for house that my dad built with his own two hands, and a $20k emergency fund.

My parents borrowed $30k to pay for half of my college expenses. My mom told me shortly before graduating that that was the most money they had owed in their whole lives. They only borrowed $15k when they built their house! I keep trying to help pay it off but they refuse.

Finally, my mom taught me to plan ahead. When I was in 2nd grade, we bought a used 1991 Geo prism. Every time we took a road trip and I brought my pop into the car, my mom would say "Don't spill your pop, this will be your car when you turn 16!" My parents managed to pay it off early and I got the car when I got my permit at 15 and a half instead. ;)

[Rollin]

Me too.  I felt quite rich in the early 70's when I made $6/day, no matter how long the day, working on a door-to-door milk delivery truck.  Sometimes started at 4:00 AM to go to the dairy and finished work at 5 or 6 PM.  I didn't care as it was $6 more than I had the day before!  Now FIRE in 10 months...

[JAYSLOL]

Well done parents!  (and Cody!) 

I didn't get quite as strong an upbringing.  Though my parents rarely wasted money when i was a kid, they didn't save like mustachians either, and didn't push me to start working as soon as i now wish i had.  I've followed a similar path as them as an adult, avoiding consumer debt and being relatively frugal for North American standards, but still not really saving much.  Now that i've recently found MMM, things are slowly changing and although i won't be retiring anytime soon I plan to get there well ahead of most people. 

[aceyou]

They taught me by example that the people who fail the most are also the people who succeed the most.  My parents own businesses.   I watched them succeed at two businesses, and even more importantly, I watched them fail at several others.  They were not wealthy while I was young, but they turned the corner when I was nearing graduation from high school. 

They taught me to be very conservative about things like consumer spending, but very aggressive when it comes to trying/learning new things that could give me new skills or opportunities. 

*They gave me 50 cherry trees for 3 years when I was a teenager that I could get all the profits from, provided I did ALL the work.  Trimming, picking, pest control, finding a place/way to sell them, advertising, etc.  I learned A TON of valuable skills. 

[ingrownstudentloans]

My "allowance" was directly tied to my jobs/chores around the house.  I even had the ability to earn "bonus" allowance if I helped clear trails in the woods behind the house.  It turns out that my dad was getting paid by the foot for walking trails through our woods as some sort of government program that was going on in NY at the time (I was too young to know all the details, still don't really know what it was all about), he would then pay me some part of the per foot payment that he received for the work I did.  I know he did not get rich off of it, and I think he violated some sort of child labor laws, but I learned a lot about work and pay and how more work = more pay.  Thanks mom and dad :)

[acroy]

OP:

AWESOME!
 'all I had was a dirty old pair of overalls ' -LOL!!

Teach 'em young, and it becomes lifelong habit. best thing you can do for a human-in-training :)

[mandy_2002]

I was on the "learning from the bad" route.

1.  I started my first paper route (5:30 in the morning delivery time in North Dakota, with several sub -40 degree weather days) when I was 10 and held it and two other routes for 5 years.
    - I started buying my own food and trinkets during this time.
    - During this time, I lent my mother money to pay the mortgage.  She never paid me back.
    - Also during this time, she was caught and charged with embezzling from the company my parents owned with another family member.
2.  Before quitting the paper route, I started a job at a restaurant, and was there in a few jobs  for over 2 years. (1 month off from work)
    - I started buying my own clothing during this time. 
3.  I've continuously held a job since then, with only 1 job lasting less than 2 years. 
    - When I was 17, I needed new glasses since the old ones were 3 years old with a bad prescription.  My father said I didn't need them, so I paid for my own doctor visit, and bought the glasses myself.  He ended up paying me for the glasses (not the doctor visit) because he felt bad. 
4.  Parents told me shortly before graduating that the "college fund" that we always talked about was a big joke.  I had to figure out how to pay for college myself, and couldn't financially separate myself from them because the school requires it occurs before turning 18.  They also refused to co-sign for any loans.
5.  I got unsubsidized Stafford loans (thanks parents income...) and a private loan for the first year, which it turns out I didn't need.
    - At some point my mother stole my identity.  She told me 3 months before college graduation.  My credit report was in shambles, which could have caused me to fail the background check for my company.  I was able to clear it up on my own in about 3 weeks.  She still has not apologized for this.
6.  Started working in engineering after 2.5 years, started paying off the student loans at the same time.  Instead of graduating with ~$40,000 debt, I left with ~$13,000, all consolidated to 2.6%.
    - My graduation gift from my parents - A GPS.  That freakin' thing cost me over $40k. 

My parents sucked as parents in a financial sense.  I was able to take everything that they did, do the opposite, and be pretty successful.  I.e. don't steal money from people.  Shocking. 
I am pretty good with money now because of it, but I wouldn't wish this on anyone.  I'm now on track to leave the workforce to become a volunteer at the age of 32.

[Rollin]

I was on the "learning from the bad" route.

1.  I started my first paper route (5:30 in the morning delivery time in North Dakota, with several sub -40 degree weather days) when I was 10 and held it and two other routes for 5 years.
    - I started buying my own food and trinkets during this time.
    - During this time, I lent my mother money to pay the mortgage.  She never paid me back.
    - Also during this time, she was caught and charged with embezzling from the company my parents owned with another family member.
2.  Before quitting the paper route, I started a job at a restaurant, and was there in a few jobs  for over 2 years. (1 month off from work)
    - I started buying my own clothing during this time. 
3.  I've continuously held a job since then, with only 1 job lasting less than 2 years. 
    - When I was 17, I needed new glasses since the old ones were 3 years old with a bad prescription.  My father said I didn't need them, so I paid for my own doctor visit, and bought the glasses myself.  He ended up paying me for the glasses (not the doctor visit) because he felt bad. 
4.  Parents told me shortly before graduating that the "college fund" that we always talked about was a big joke.  I had to figure out how to pay for college myself, and couldn't financially separate myself from them because the school requires it occurs before turning 18.  They also refused to co-sign for any loans.
5.  I got unsubsidized Stafford loans (thanks parents income...) and a private loan for the first year, which it turns out I didn't need.
    - At some point my mother stole my identity.  She told me 3 months before college graduation.  My credit report was in shambles, which could have caused me to fail the background check for my company.  I was able to clear it up on my own in about 3 weeks.  She still has not apologized for this.
6.  Started working in engineering after 2.5 years, started paying off the student loans at the same time.  Instead of graduating with ~$40,000 debt, I left with ~$13,000, all consolidated to 2.6%.
    - My graduation gift from my parents - A GPS.  That freakin' thing cost me over $40k. 

My parents sucked as parents in a financial sense.  I was able to take everything that they did, do the opposite, and be pretty successful.  I.e. don't steal money from people.  Shocking. 
I am pretty good with money now because of it, but I wouldn't wish this on anyone.  I'm now on track to leave the workforce to become a volunteer at the age of 32.

Wow!  I'm glad you kept on keepin' on!

[Cougar]

Greeting fellow Mustachians.

As far back as I can remember I have had a distaste for wasting money.

At the age of 6 I desperately wanted a Gameboy Colour with Pokemon Yellow Version, but I had no money. At the time, most of my friends seemed to have all the coolest gadgets (Nintendo, pet gecko, trampoline, nerf gun) but all I had was a dirty old pair of overalls. I asked my parents if I could get these cool toys but they simply responded with "How? With what money? You should probably get a job". Thus similar to our messiah Mr.MM, in order to save money as a young boy I had to deliver papers every day after school through the harsh Canadian tundra. And after nearly 6 months of hard work I was able to purchase my beloved Gameboy.

From a very young age I learned how to "earn" the things I wanted in life. And it is because of those long treacherous hikes through -30 degree weather, I will be FI by the age of 30.

Thanks Mom and Dad.


If anyone else cares to share how their parents influenced their mustachianism (for better or worse), please share below!

congrats !

my dad is very mustachian an always was.

he used to sell bibles door to door as a teenager and saved the money for college. to this day, he still looks for good buys, buys clothes at discounts and on sale rather than off the rack at high end retail even though he'll never outlive his money today.

unfortunately, i was a spender and bought into the consumer culture and had to learn the hard way; but i'm piling it up in spades now. ironically, my dad gives me static for being cheap when he was the original cheapskate in our family; although my granddad was supposedly tight with money too.