Money Lessons

I can't think of anyone I know who does not worry about their financial health. It is a normal thing to do because much of our lives are spent dealing with money. It could be the acquisition of wealth, paying down of debt or the consumption of items. It is about money. I can't think of too many of us who wouldn't have immediate plans for more money if it came into our lives, and I can't think of too many of us who would love to never have to worry about it ever again.

When I was in high school, and I mean just starting at 14, I knew I had to make some money. I was the youngest, and academically brightest, of 6 kids. There was no such thing as a college fund. I was not going to get a scholarship playing water polo, and I had already learned to not ask my parents for money for anything. If I was going to get something I was going to have to earn it.

My first job was as a truck washer for my brother Kelly. He owned a local courier service and in order to maintain a good corporate image the trucks needed to be clean. I would wash the trucks (I think it was 5 or 6 including a big UHaul type) for $40 bucks. It seemed like a fortune. The work was sporadic in the fall because of water polo tournaments, horrible in the winter because of the weather, and pretty regular in the spring. It wasn't much, but it was money in my pocket.

I moved on to becoming a bus boy at Lyon's with the help of my brother Kurt. I was making minimum wage $3.35/hr (remember those days) and trying to befriend the kitchen staff so that I would not have to use the meal plan at work (if the cooks liked you they would mess up an order for you to eat). I hated cleaning up after people and doing the dishes. The money was better but I just couldn't endure the work. I couldn't figure out how to put it behind me. 6 months later I was gone.

I landed the best job of those early years in the library. I was a page, a book shelver. It was great. I worked 19 hr. weeks during school (which bumped up to full time in college), it started at $5.75/hr (when I left for UCLA I was up to $10/hr), it was air conditioned (a big plus in Stockton summers), and I could tune out all of the things around me. It was a great job. I really enjoyed working there and really enjoyed the people I got to know over the years. When I went to UCLA the first thing I did was go to one of the libraries for a job.

During this time I saved. I saved so I could pay for classes, my car, my insurance, anything that I needed I saved for. I missed a lot of things (at least I thought I did) during those years. I didn't go on a lot of trips to ski or to the lake or river. I had to work. I didn't go out as much at night as some of my friends. I had to work. I knew the meaning of opportunity costs at an earlier age then most. I had to work and I had to save.

I put myself through college. I'm proud of that. I've never missed a payment on anything, ever. I'm proud of that. I've never been in a situation where there was not some type of fallback position available if money got really tight (and it did). I learned the lessons associated with money and hard work. I also hated the fact that there were always choices to be made.

I think about money today as well. I don't think about it as much as I used to. I've come to understand that I will always make sure that there is dinner on the table and a roof over the table and kids in clothes at the table. I also know that money is not the be all or end all of the world as we know it. If I want to be comfortable now I will make that choice knowing that in the future I will also have to make a choice. I still hate the fact that I have to make that choice but in the end I know that everything will work its way out and that I don't have to keep my mind on my money and my money on my mind to make things work.