In the spirit of my own curiosity (again), I'd be interested to see which personal "money memories" others have from their childhoods which they feel might have influenced their current financial thoughts the most. I've read that most of our money beliefs and such are usually shaped by only one or two vivid scenarios/memories from our childhoods.

In my case:

(1) I think the year was 1984 or '85; I was in either 8th or 9th grade, and soccer had become my love. One weekday, at soccer practice, I took part in a rather painful meeting: My face met Mr. Soccer Ball at full-speed. Now, it hadn't been a short-range kick. There was enough distance between us that I'd seen the ball leaving my opponent's foot and heading for my face, but because my Spot-Bilt soccer shoes were old and their rubber cleats worn smooth, my attempts to get out the way were fruitless. End results? Bloody nose, and a hefty dose of ribbing from my teammates.

After practice, my mom arrived to pick up myself and two neighborhood friends for the ride home. In the car, on the highway back, she noticed a bit of blood on my nose and inquired about it. I told her what had happened, and that it sure would be nice if I could get some new soccer shoes (back then, a workable pair cost around $20). There, with my friends in the back seat and me in the front, Mom proceeded to absolutely unload on me -- we didn't have the money for new shoes; I'd just have to deal with it and stay out of the ball's way; if this was going to be a problem I could just stop playing soccer altogether; in fact, I was lucky to even be allowed to play, since she had better things to do than drive my friends and I to or from practice.

I can still feel the weight of the silence in the car when she finished.

(2) Summer of 1989. I was about to graduate high school, having done all my entrance and scholarship applications for college. I was going to attend the University of Oklahoma -- 1.5 hours away from my hometown. I had no dependable transportation at the time, but wanted to purchase my grandmother's '83 Buick Regal from her since she was no longer able to drive. She wanted $3200 for it; at that point, I'd only saved $1000. So the car was a no-go, which meant my going to OU was also a no-go.

That summer I received a letter from OU saying that I'd been offered a further $1,000 scholarship from the engineering school. My parents read it, and next thing I know, the Buick Regal was mine. Suddenly I'd been given a pretty stark glimpse into the way my parents' viewed money: Somebody gives you $1,000 ... you throw in another $1,000 ... and you go spend $3,200. Fiscal responsibility at its best, huh?

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I'd be really curious to hear others' stories in this regard!



Later,
Story

http://www.mdmproofing.com/iym/