Spent 4 years pretending it's all OK

Hey NOAh,

I read you whole diary a few weeks ago when I was too shy to post, but have now refound you by stalking lilty.

Remember that not increasing debt in difficult circumstances in a huge achievement in itself :T:T:T

NoOneAround wrote: »

Question: How did you teach teens about the value of money? Sometimes I feel my son thinks we have a golden goose. Tried to explain to hm its called "work" "determination" "perseverance" "compromise" "sacrifice":(
NOA
xx

I Grew up (and I'm only 25 now) with about 1/5 of the pocket money of my peers. By the time I reached secondary school (2011) I got 70p pocket money a week. If I wanted more money I had to do chores for it. One day's worth of washing up (family of 7!) was worth £1, One bucket of weeds from the garden was 70p (and Dad always stamped on the bucket and told me it wasn't full yet so I had to do more), washing the car was £1.50 (but no hoses, just buckets of water and a watering can)....can't remember the other job prices....when I got to the age of 14 and had a cleaning job that paid me an hourly rate (introducing me to the concept of an hourly rate lol) I insisted on getting one and got paid at the rate of £2 an hour....although washing up was still £1 a night.

As I got older it went from instant money for the chores to Dad tallying it all up and paying me weekly on a saturday with my pocket money to teach me about working and having to wait for the money.

Had I not left home at 15 I don't know if that would have become fortnightly and then monthly or not.

Anyway, it gave me a good steed and work ethic. Obv the money management didn't go so well but it was up to me to spend it (which I always did on sweeties) or save up for bigger things that my parents refused to buy me.

Oh NOAh I LOVE the garden. Reminds me of mum and dads own slice of heaven. When I was growing up we had three sycamores, a cherry tree, an apple tree, a holly tree, a Christmas tree that grew higher than the house, two rowans and a twisted willow in the garden. My dad has merrily chopped all but the holly tree down now :eek: for light and firewood, but I am sad that the days of blossom and helicopters have gone. It is still a beautiful garden though.

Thanks for my birthday wishes and flowers. I got a lovely cascade orchid from work and a lovely bunch of flowers hand delivered by my friend today who I thought was in Dubai! I was in shock! But very nice indeed

Well done for eating your frogs. And by that I meant getting the two bad jobs out of the way We call it eating frogs on my challenge and it keeps me focused. If you didn't know the story, there was a man who ate a frog every morning when he got up, and when asked why he would do such a thing he always responded, nothing in my day can be worse than eating a frog!

Big hugs xxx