My parents raised me the same way as Simon’s, and I thank my mom regularly. Despite my income hovering around the poverty level for a few years, I have no debt and pay for my own health insurance. (I chose to take on fun, low-paying jobs where I accrued good experience and was able to do so thanks to lack of loan debt.) I do without a lot of things, I suppose, but I don’t really miss them thanks to how I was raised.

I think a lot of walls have come down when it comes to talking about money. My parents never talked about money with people outside the family, and don’t seem to understand why I do… but it’s definitely more rewarding to talk to my peers, who are often in similar situations – especially us poor grad students

for the record, the friends I am referencing do not live flashy lifestyles, but are adjusting to living completely on their own for the first time…

I recently stayed with a rather wealthy girl in the New Forest (her hospitality was crap but that’s another story), wealthy enough that they had a summer house, a pool, a jacuzzi, koi pond, elegant green house, and a huge garage with accommodation above it. They still had a rotary line, but they’d classed it up a bit by building it a little rockery to stand in and turning it into a garden feature. It looked hilarious.

That being said, I found the beginning was very much “holier-than-thou” (no pun intended) describing having: “large backyards, deer to hunt, maple trees to tap etc.” which truly is moreso the lifestyle of those living in more rural surroundings, while we must realize that the most highly-populated areas in North America reside tight urban areas. To put it plainly: most of us don’t have access to the types of lifestyle means you described in the beginning of the article, therefore, this tale is not as relate-able as the author would imagine or perhaps had intended.

Now, that being said, I found that the essential principles described in the latter part of the article: simple living, frugality, less debt = less need to work etc. were great. They are the financial truths that are so rarely exhibited in our contemporary society.

I wish the author all of the best in his future endeavors & and am quite pleased that he is so thankful for his humbilizing roots

Also, feel free to bring up topics or articles you read that excite you. Just like your other interests, you shouldn’t feel like you have to hide your enjoyment of particular topics or a blog post that made you look at something in a whole new way.

lol, I was also amazed to see GREEN grass under the snow. In Kansas, by the end of the summer the grass is very dry and brown (unless you water).

The real problem comes when they call me cheap for not buying soda at restaurants. They also like to buy meals that are double the price of mine and yet think I should split every bill with them 50/50.

I have zero debt now and although my savings account is not nearly as big as I’d like at 26 I max my IRA every year and i’m putting 10% of my paycheck in my 401K. Watching every other friend of mine basically killing themselves to get out of debt yet they still drive BMWs and spend 100 dollars a weekend on drinking. This is the attitude that got us in our current financial crisis. I just am very happy my parents taught me not to do this without myself really ever realizing.

Thanks for the article, it was great!

My parents tried to teach me a few things, but they were too busy trying to dig themselves out of debt their entire lives to really set any sort of example, so I followed suit for many years.

I just find it INSANE that most of made it through our American education system with high school, college, post-graduate degrees – yet hardly learned a darn thing about practical, day-to-day money management (e.g. “spend less than you earn”). I didn’t really learn how to do a proper budgeting/savings/get-out-of-debt techniques until my mid-30′s (THANKS to people like JD, Dave Ramsey, and other authors). By then I had already wasted years and lots of money doing everything wrong. Isn’t that just crazy!?

I’m not saying we should leave it up to our education system to fix, but at least try.
It’s no wonder our country’s financial situation is so messed up – all of us are learning this stuff the hard way!!

Great story. Thanks for sharing!

I am fortunate to be debt-free through family, summer jobs and scholarships paying for college, now a full assistantship in grad school, own my well-used car and save 30% of my income.

And yet, I feel awkward trying to contribute to the conversation when some friends are living paycheck to paycheck, or close to it. I ventured that saving 10% might be a good starting point, but apparently that’s not even doable for some.

Can this be compared to when friends all start getting married and having kids and you’re still single? They’re already tired of my science lectures, not sure I want to turn into the accountant too…

(http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/TaxOnPropertyAndRentalIncome/DG_4017804)

The amount you are allowed tax free is £4250, and my parents get slightly less than that as I only pay rent to them over the summer months when I’m not at university.