fairfarmhand Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 My oldest one at home is 17 and a senior. She's been struggling a bit on how life will look after graduation, is it worthwhile to go to college for 4 years, maybe she can just write books or work at the tea shop where she has a part time job. And all those cute little Victorian homes on the square in the small town where she loves working, yes, she'll live in one of those. So last night, we started looking at what those adorable homes cost. And the real kicker for her was scrolling down to the bottom of the page of the real estate listing to the part that said " Estimate my payment." Even the tiniest one with two bedrooms was about three times what she's making per month (part time job, 15 hours a week) and that's with a 35,000 down payment. Those numbers quickly brought her down to reality, and she started looking at realistic options for a life plan. We also looked at the less cute homes, which were only slightly less expensive. I love that she wants to write books. But I also know that she wants to be independent, and there's no man in the background to help with bills while she establishes her writing career. Of course that could change, but she doesn't want to plan her life around an imaginary prince charming. All that to say, she is now considering a Chemistry degree or Environmental Science. Not that she's totally out of writing or anything else. It's just that she wants to be practical in the mean time. And she's okay with that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 The Cosby Show is forever tarnished, but it makes me think of that classic scene where Theo is planning to drop out and work at the garage and never go to college and have this great life because he'll make so much money and Cliff just keeps taking the money out until he realizes he'll be broke all the time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 11 minutes ago, Farrar said: The Cosby Show is forever tarnished, but it makes me think of that classic scene where Theo is planning to drop out and work at the garage and never go to college and have this great life because he'll make so much money and Cliff just keeps taking the money out until he realizes he'll be broke all the time. YES! I have showed that to my kids before. Real life is hard. Adulting is tough. And everything costs so much more than you ever imagine. As a teen, I thought being a grownup would be so much cooler than what it is. I love the part when Theo hands Cliff extra money for clothing because " I want to look good." 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 7 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said: YES! I have showed that to my kids before. Real life is hard. Adulting is tough. And everything costs so much more than you ever imagine. As a teen, I thought being a grownup would be so much cooler than what it is. I love the part when Theo hands Cliff extra money for clothing because " I want to look good." My kids definitely need these lessons. I always knew that life could go awry and adulting was hard... I watched my father mismanage the home we were building resulting in us having nowhere to live and then my mother struggling through being a single mom and going to school. Obviously I don't want my kids to have to deal with those experiences to get those lessons, but... ugh. They couldn't even win a penny on Price is Right, which... that should be a requirement for adulting. Ds worked his rear off all summer and has saved some good money, but also spent a huge portion on a VR headset. I mean, on the one hand, he's 14. Good for him for having a job and making enough money for something like that. On the other hand... he has no idea how to really save smart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 1 minute ago, Farrar said: My kids definitely need these lessons. I always knew that life could go awry and adulting was hard... I watched my father mismanage the home we were building resulting in us having nowhere to live and then my mother struggling through being a single mom and going to school. Obviously I don't want my kids to have to deal with those experiences to get those lessons, but... ugh. They couldn't even win a penny on Price is Right, which... that should be a requirement for adulting. Ds worked his rear off all summer and has saved some good money, but also spent a huge portion on a VR headset. I mean, on the one hand, he's 14. Good for him for having a job and making enough money for something like that. On the other hand... he has no idea how to really save smart. We watched the Price is Right growing up. My kids know that their dad hands me a check every month out of which I manage their lessons, gas for my car, clothing, haircuts, and food. It's $1000. Their eyes bug out! Wow, Mom! So much money. And I cash the check and separate it into different envelopes and *poof* in front of their eyes, the money diminishes and diminishes. They don't even really know what our mortgage is or insurance or our other expenses. But just that small glimpse I think helps them remember that it's not that much money when you start divvying it out into needed things. My 17 yo bought her first car. She had saved for a few years, and paid for half and we paid for the other half with the expectation that she'd pay us back. It took her 6 months to pay us off. She says one reason she's such a careful (grandma-like) driver is because that car cost SOOO much money. It's not that she never indulges herself, but she thinks carefully about it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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