I’m taking a break between now and New Years. My absence will be filled by contributions from you, the readers of Get Rich Slowly. Next week could see a heavy posting schedule or a light one, depending on the number of submissions. Meanwhile, I’ll be working behind-the-scenes on various site improvements. If you have any suggestions or requests, please let me know so that I can add them to my agenda.
Did you now that you can subscribe to Get Rich Slowly via any of the following methods?
Finally: though I’m not a fan of blog memes, I’ll play along this time. Several of you have “tagged” me to share five things most readers don’t know about me. In keeping with this site’s theme, I’ve tried to keep them money-oriented.
- I grew up poor. My family lived in a trailer house in the middle of the country. (That trailer house is now the office for our business.) Dad was frequently out of work. But during his life, he also started two successful businesses, the latter of which is the source of my day job today. He did some farming, too. All of these things led to a sort of “famine or feast” financial situation. We struggled without much for months at a time, and then we’d suddenly have money again. Dad was terrible at saving. He spent all his money on expensive hobbies. He always owned an airplane (he was once a flight instructor) and a sailboat. It was from this sort of modeling that I learned the terrible money skills that I still struggle with today.
- I always knew I would go to college. But because my family was poor, I knew they couldn’t help pay my way. So, I studied hard in high school, and participated in a lot of activities. I based my choice of colleges on who would give me the most financial aid. Willamette University gave me a full scholarship, as well as grants for room-and-board. I actually think this hurt me in the long run. Because I didn’t have to pay for anything, I didn’t appreciate the cost of my education. I wasn’t as serious about my studies as I ought to have been. I graduated without any debt, but also without any direction.
- I was a psychology major. I minored in English literature. I started taking speechcomm classes my senior year and loved them. I almost got a minor in that, too. (Ran out of time.) If I could do it all again, I’d study history — the older I get, the more I realize how fundamental a grasp of history is to understanding the world today. I still take about one college course every year, either at the local community college or at Portland State University. I believe education is of utmost importance.
- My wife used to teach high school physics. When she decided to leave teaching for a career in forensic chemistry, we thought we would have to move from Oregon to Connecticut. This prompted me to spend nine months undergoing a crash course in computer science. I worked full time while taking classes at local colleges. When it turned out we didn’t have to move, I parlayed my skills into a computer programming job. I hated it. I’d always wanted to be a computer programmer, but once I became one, I loathed the work.
- My favorite job ever was at McDonald’s when I was a senior in high school. I’m not kidding. My co-workers were whip-smart and efficient. We had a blast. It was a game to see how good we could be. I’ve worked at other jobs where the employees are apathetic, just killing time on the clock. Those jobs are miserabe. It wasn’t like that at McDonald’s. We were a team, and our goal was to be awesome. We were.
Now’s the part of the game where I’m supposed to tag five other bloggers. I’m not going to do that. However, I’d love to learn more about regular readers in the comments!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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You must have had a really great management team at your McDonalds. I worked at a McDonalds off and on for a total of two years and hated every minute of it. I never experienced anything resembling team work.
Starbucks, however, is the best job I have ever had. It was a blast, training was awesome and fun, and they know how to take care of their employees. I worked there for four years (the longest I have ever held a single job). Please note that I am the type to distinguish between a job and career.
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I have a bachelor’s degree in history. I mostly studied war. If you can grasp this concept, you have not missed much: No argument is a new argument–there are just more devastating weapons each time.
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The cost of education thing is actually surprisingly common. I got better grades in college than the valedictorian of my high school, who burned out later on and didn’t really care because everything for him–including room and board–was free. I, on the other hand, was paying for everything out of pocket except a $500 “scholarship” from my church, and I had to live at home to manage it. Worse, however, are the ones whose parents paid for everything; since they don’t have to maintain grades to keep their scholarships, they just drink.
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I had pretty much a full scholarship to college (NYU) and it was amazing – for me that meant that I could afford to go to grad school after college (I have a Phd in Biology – and your average academic scientists are not particularly well paid in the long run) – if I had big loans I would have worked right away and maybe never gotten to go back to school. I would have felt pressure to do something more lucrative to pay my debts instead of following my interests.
I took college seriously (and did have fun too!) and really appreciated not having $100K debt when I left.
As a bonus, the money my parents had saved for my college education (which would not have been enough to pay my way to college entirely, even at a state school) augmented my down payment for a condo.
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I’d like to see some numbers on the whole kids in college with financial support end up screwing it up.
I have read research that shows students that have to work too much to support themselves have lower grades. There’s the anecdotal evidence of kids with full support of parents or scholarships not taking college seriously enough, but I haven’t read any studies on this.
There should be a balance of external support and students supporting themselves.
I ended up only paying for my books. Parents, loans, and scholarships paid for the rest. It was hard to find a job when I graduated with a Computer Science degree since the tech bubble had just burst. If I had taken college more seriously, it would have been easier, but I’m not sure I would have done so if I had to hold down a job during school. Now, just a few years after graduating, I’ve got a really good job and more that making up (money wise) for the couple years I was underemployed and living with my parents.
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Honestly I see what you did with working hard in high school as something more kids should learn from. If I had known about the possible scholarships for good grades I would have applied myself more to reach such a goal (maybe not).
I paid for about 85% of my college and even took time off several semesters to not have to take out any loans. So now I’m minus the school debt, but I don’t remember enjoying any of it knowing how much it really cost.
I believe I would have studied more and been more focused on a career after graduation if I wasn’t so concerned with how to pay for next semester…
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I’d be surprised if there’s any significant difference in academic performance between students who pay their own way versus those who are supported by scholarships and/or their parents. It boils down to motivation and maturity. If you were a good student in high school you’ll probably be a good student at university, unless your good grades in high school were due to parental supervision. When you’re in your late teens and early 20s, finding direction and taking your studies seriously can be a challenge regardless of who’s paying for your own education.
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Can’t help but weigh in on the impact of college funding: I was lucky enough to turn my hard work during high school into a full ride plus stipend (from a variety of sources) at my state (but very good) university.
Somehow, I think I actually felt more motivated because of this – unlike most of my peers, I had been given grant money to cover my education because various organizations (the state, various private organizations, a federal fund to promote scientific research, etc) had thought that funding my education would pay off in the long run in terms of the benefits I would bring for society at large. I was extremely grateful for the support, but since it certainly wasn’t clear to me how in my current state I was prepared to give back enough to fulfill this hope, I felt a strong obligation to work hard and go as far as I could in order to prove them right. I’m now 6 years out of college and immersed in a full time research career in a basic science lab, and so far I am proud of how I have done (although I still feel a strong obligation to justify the money that has been invested in me).
One thing that I do think helped me a lot is that I didn’t get all of my financial support up front. I started college with enough to cover the first year in full and with much of the subsequent years covered, but not nearly all of it. Each year, then, I would apply for additional scholarships and grants and fellowships to cover the rest. This turned out to be a very important part of my education: most of what I applied for was money tied to research, where the application involved writing a research proposal as well as normal cv-based stuff. Each application, then, involved writing multiple drafts of a research proposal and going over them with my research mentor (who in fact I only had because my money was tied to working in a research lab); in addition, each award I received improved my cv and made me qualified to apply for more competitive grants in the future. At the time, I had no idea how important all this would be to my future career – I was just applying because I needed the money. But afterwards, both my skills in writing these kinds of proposals and my cv turned out to be significant advantages over my peers who had similar records otherwise, but had had college paid for from the start, and so not been participating in the grant application process all along.
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Wow, I’d love to work at that McDonald’s too! I’ve never worked in any establishment where at least 1/2 the people weren’t apathetic … ugh.
Hmmm … something about me that you may not know. OK, keeping with the financial theme … even though I run a humor site, by day I’m the CIO of a mid-sized Financial Services firm in DC area.
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While Australia doesn’t have the ridiculous cost of university in the US, studies here have found that students who work a small amount have improved grades over those who don’t have a job at all, but more than ~12 hours a week and the grades start to go down again.
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I worked at Sonic Drive In for 5 years. The corporate side of it treated its employees like garbage, but my manager was amazing. He kept us motivated and showed us that having a job, no matter how lowly it seemed, was something to be proud of, since we were earning money for ourselves rather than relying on parents. I also took many important soft skills from that place: how to deal with difficult co-workers, what it’s like to be a manager, how to handle drunk/rude/tired customers, how to teach others that you get out of life what you put in.
My family was constantly poor while I was growing up too. I was a first generation college student and had to pay my own way through college also, through scholarships, grants, loans, and a full time job. I agree with Brad, what makes a successful college student is maturity level. My younger brother was paying his own way through school, like me, but because of his maturity level (or rather lack thereof) he flunked out by way of too much partying.
Your honesty encourages me to stick with my financial plan and dig myself out of debt. I look forward to more in the new year.
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thanks for posting this – here are five things about me =)
1. i live in north of sweden & we still don’t have snow for christmas this year. but to look at it from the bright side – at least i won’t wear out my winter clothes as much this year
2. i love to knit & crochet – atm i’m trying to use up the yarn i already have at home instead of ‘always’ buying new stuff when i see something i like. so the past days i’ve made a cell phone cozy for my friend’s b-day gift & a pair of slippers + a bikini top for me. there’s still lots of yarn left. or rather, i can hardly see anything has gone. but the more socks, the better
3. i am currently working as a journalist for a local lifestyle magazine, where i write a lot about shopping. at first, as a big part of my daily tasks consists of running around in stores, i spent more money than i normally do – but now i’m used to it + i also visit shops a lot less in my spare-time – why keep doing what i already have done at work all day?
4. i’d like to study at a university in another town in the fall, so i’m saving up for that. i’m amazed to see how many things i can do without. although my phone bill may have increased, by calling my friends to tell how good i’m doing with not spending.
5. since i started living more frugally (partly thanks to this site) i feel that my quality of life has increased. i thought it would be the opposite but that i’d ‘have to put up with it’ in order to be able to move. now i really appreciate what i do have (and i do have a lot of food etc already at home, which i used to just ignore & buy something new and more interesting) & am thrilled by getting to eat something yummy which i used to take for granted. of course, what’s the most satisfying is to look at the numbers in my savings’ account & say ‘i did this all by myself & in such a short time’. well, not entirely by myself – i’ve found good advice too =)
merry christmas to you & anyone else who might read this!
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Why did you hate computer programming? I’ve switched my career from starting a career in acedemia to being self taught in computers and now I am a CTO at a software company. I love the work so much. It’s very mathmatical, and there is alot of creativity if you really know how to design and architect systems.
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I have a degree from Lewis & Clark College in psychology and business administration. I also make Portland my home. I have been in financial management for many years, and have gradually discovered that my psychology degree has been much more valuable to me than my business degree. So much so that after 22 years in business I intend to go back to LC for my masters in counseling psychology.
I have also learned over time (painfully) that the constant pursuit of material gain is a serious and devastating practice. Many people find themselves desparately in debt and with very low levels of self-esteem and happiness. Up to this point, I have dedicated my career to helping shareholders (and to a lesser extent me) get rich. From now on, I am dedicated to helping others escape the bonds of consumerism and materialism.
Keep up the good work.
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[...] I was going to tag other personal finance bloggers but I think most of the blogs I read have already been tagged. So instead, here’s a list of bloggers I’ve found that have participated: 2 Million Blog Adult ADD And Money Adventure Money Blueprint For Financial Prosperity Blunt Money Boston Gal’s Open Wallet Consumerism Commentary Experiments in Finance Free Money Finance Fire Finance Frank the Financially Savvy Atheist Get Rich Slowly It’s Just Money It’s Your Money Lazy Man And Money Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge Money, Matter, and More Musings My Money Blog My Open Wallet My Wealth Builder No Limit Ladies Stingy Students The Digerati Life The Simple Dollar The Sun’s Financial Diary Tired But Happy We’re In Debt Young And Broke December 25, 2006 – Category: Miscellaneous Digg! Furl Del.icio.us Reddit [...]
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I do programming for a living (and support my wife staying at home with our 4 kids, in a rather expensive state … NJ).
Some things I enjoy about programming are (re)architecting applications, and helping others if/when they have problems.
What I don’t care for too much lately, is the slightly archaic tools that we use. However, I’m trying to enhance those tools to make our lives easier (so I’m happy about that).
What have I learned in my 25 years of work experience so far (everything from Janitorial to Computer Programming)? Simply that enjoying your work shows, and is also rewarded. If you don’t enjoy it, then it’s time for a change. That change can either be you leaving the company, or making complete suggestions to your management on how to make things easier/better/faster.
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