Things you remember about finance in your childhood

25 years for me and still using the same account number as well. I wonder if the yellow Dollar mite sleeve/ banking that they gave out to kids for depositing is worth anything.

 

For the sound of it, this Dollar mite is a very successful product

 

I'm pretty sure we closed my Dollarmite account as a kid but I should probably check

 

i remember working for my grandfather at his old Golden Fleece petrol station in Balmain East.
he would say;
'a penny saved is a penny earned'
which is about all he paid me for a Saturday.

 

We were financially okay (in hindsight) growing up ... but money was never discussed. We used to get given our school banking, with 20c, once a week and that was it.

Took me 10 years after leaving home to get my head around how money works - and start getting it to work for me instead of spending every cent.

 

I can remember getting $100 at age 4 for a hills play equipment photo shoot they did at our kindy and thinking I was just absolutely rich, just shows wealth is a relative thing!

Can also remember at an early age (like 5 or 6) using a calculator to project how long it would take me to save certain amounts keeping all my pocket money. Meanwhile my sister would just blow it on chocolate! Funnily enough we are still the same, except now I have spreadseets and her tastes have moved to expensive wine!

 

I remember my economics teacher in about Year 10 mentioning r/e - he said; they ain't making any more land...

Other than that; only thing I got as a kid from anyone I knew was; to put money into the Bank.

 

They're making more land in Dubai. But they can afford to.

 

I learnt that you can't trust some family members with money and if they can get their hands on yours or someone else's, they will.
In other words, I learnt that you have to stand up for what's right, no matter who it is that's trying to manipulate and persuade or threaten. A sense of entitlement = lying and borrowing that never gets repaid.
And living in a nice house in a nice street doesn't mean there is a nice bank account.
Gotta be very careful of who holds the purse strings.
Comes in handy these days with tradies. And the North Shore boasters.
On the plus side, 3 light healthy meals a day and an elongated walk to the bus stop is a great start to life.

 

Talking about other people's income or assets is in poor taste.
'You don't need that, and I'm not going to buy it for you.'
I distinctly recall a conversation with my dad when I was about 11, when he explained negative gearing to me. He followed it up with explaining that positive gearing is much better
Don't ever carry a credit card balance, and buy your car outright.
Pay off your mortgage as quickly as possible.
Nobody ever wants to retire on the pension if there is a better option available.

 

My dad (an accountant) would never use the toll road from Berowra to Calga. That was in the late 70's. From memory it was 20c, although I might be wrong.

 

And everybody's dad should say "DONT buy too many handbags" (for yourself or your partner, depending on your handbag non/ownership):-

Case in point:

Christine Jia Xin Lee's explanation for $4.6 million Westpac overdraft

 

This!

$2 a week or what ever it was. Don't see it any more. And look, no on has any money saved either lol

 

You guys got $2 to put into your dollarmite account?
I only had 20c to 50c....

 

They don't have dollarmites anymore but they give these money boxes out with the kids accounts, my 4yo has managed to fill it to the brim in under 6 months, little bugger steals any change he finds around the house

 

I only got 5 cents a week - in the seventies. The big message was not to be in debt.

We were pretty poor for years while my dad and uncle made a go of a dairy farm.

Hard to get that feeling out of my bones - even forty years later.

 

I remember my dad sitting at the kitchen table, dividing up his pay every week (they were paid in cash back then!) and after working out the amounts for the essentials like mortgage, groceries, bills etc there was virtually nothing left - every week. Times were often very tough, but we got by.
Dad worked afternoon and night shifts to get that little bit extra.

 

What age were you when you got your first job? I was 11yo and made around $1.80 per week - 1970's - working in a shop. My parents (mother esp) were so tight with money. And she still is. I had a CBA account but had the tin in shape of the bank building. I tried to help my 12yo son set himself up in business cleaning out rubbish bins ( i was going to do the yuck bit) but he is too precious for this and just expects $$ to flow out of me.

 

I worked weekends with the Oldman as far back as I can remember, that's how I bought all my bmxs and bought my first car. 32 years old now and still work with the oldman

 

And now the people of today complain how housing is unaffordable because they can't buy their dream house as their first home.

When did everyone become so whinghy?