Meet a Reader | Megan from California
Megan emailed me a little nervously because she and her husband are not super-duper frugal. But this is "Meet A Reader" not, "Meet Only Super Frugal Readers". There are all sorts of reasons people hang out here, and some of those reasons have nothing to do with frugality. 🙂
So, here's Megan!
1. Tell us a little about yourself
I’m 40 years old, married with two sons who are 11 and 7 years old. I live in the desert in Southern California, and my husband and I are both engineers.
We are privileged in that we both have good-paying jobs and have more than enough money to cover the bills. We don’t live super frugally, but we do live well within our means and try not to be wasteful with our resources.
2. How long have you been reading The Frugal Girl?
I started following Kristen on Instagram after she was on a podcast I listened to (Best of Both Worlds, probably?).
I only started reading the blog when I saw Kristen’s post about her separation and was curious what had happened. I really wish I’d started reading the blog when I started following her on Instagram because it’s a lovely place to hang out.
3. How did you get interested in saving money?
When I got my first job in high school, my parents said I had to save a percentage of every paycheck.
As a foolish young high school kid, that rule annoyed me because I wanted to spend ALL of my paycheck, but I still saved a chunk of it because I had no choice.
I actually became personally interested in saving money after the embarrassing money mistake(s) I’ll tell you about in a couple of questions. 😀
4. What's the "why" behind your money-saving efforts?
I like to have money saved because of the sense of security that we could cover most emergency expenses that arise. I made some foolish choices shortly after graduating college, burning through my savings and running up credit card bills.
I still remember how long it took to pay that off and never want to be there again.
5. What's your best frugal win?
This is largely a case of being in the right place at the right time, but my husband and I really lucked out when we were ready to buy a house. We bought our house in March 2009, during some of the worst of the recession and the housing bubble bursting.
We bought one of many foreclosed houses on the market for much less than the original buyer had paid, and now our house is worth much more than what we paid for it. We’re not looking to sell any time soon, but it is very nice to enjoy a smaller mortgage payment every month.
6. What's an embarrassing money mistake you've made?
I think of the period of my life right after college my “quarter life crisis,” which included a series of money mistakes.
After I graduated from college, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get an engineering job, so I just continued in my college job of restaurant manager. That would have been just fine, except I also decided I wanted to buy a fancy car and go out to nice meals a bunch with my boyfriend at the time.
Needless to say, my restaurant manager salary didn’t support the life I was trying to live.
After about a year as a restaurant manager after college, I decided to give an engineering job a try, knowing that I could always quit if I didn’t like it. You’d think this would be the end of the mistakes, but no, I still had some learning to do.
I racked up more debt to move to California, then the fancy car turned out to be a lemon, requiring a bunch of expensive repairs.
I decided I was better off trading in the fancy car, but doubled down on poor car choices by getting a brand-new, completely unpractical sports car.
After two years trying to live with a car that I couldn’t really even fit groceries in, I finally made a good choice and traded in the sports car for a car that was both fun and practical. I had that car for 10 years, long after I was done with car payments.
7. What's one thing you splurge on?
I still splurge on cars, but now I’m smart about it. I still want to drive a fun car, but I also make sure the car I choose is practical enough to cover my needs.
Like I said, I drove my last car for 10 years, and I hope to do the same with my current car.
8. What's one thing you aren't remotely tempted to splurge on?
Travel. This might change as my kids get older, but the thought of traveling just sounds like a bunch of logistical headaches and poor sleep in hotel rooms.
We make regular trips to visit family, but don’t really do any other traveling.
9. If $1000 was dropped into your lap today, what would you do with it?
Put it in our index fund investment account.
10. What's the easiest/hardest part of being frugal?
I think I have a fairly natural inclination to being frugal, so it’s easy for me to forgo buying things.
The hardest is passing that frugal inclination on to my kids. They want me to buy all the things.
I’m not going to buy them all the things, but I have no idea how to stop them from wanting them (or if that’s even my job as their mom). I try to set a good example, so hopefully that’s a good start.
11. Is there anything unique about frugal living in your area?
Not really.
12. Did you ever receive any financial education in school or from your parents?
My parents did a really good job of providing me financial education. I still remember that they bought a kit for me with fake checks and a fake checkbook to balance, using money in the Bank of the Parents.
I remember my mom showing me how she balanced the checkbook every month and paid bills. They taught me the importance of saving some of every paycheck and paying off credit cards every month even though I didn’t want to hear that back then.
I went off the rails during my “quarter-life crisis,” but they gave me the tools I needed to come back from that. I hope I can teach my kids as well as my parents taught me.
13. How has reading The Frugal Girl changed you?
I really appreciate Kristen’s approach to frugality, where it’s important to balance penny-pinching with quality of life. She gives words to the way I try to live, and it’s really validating to see someone else doing it so well.
Also, I now eat the end pieces of loaves of bread, and I’ve learned that you can revitalize wilted veggies with a simple soak in some water. 😀
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Megan, it's funny that you found me through Best of Both Worlds. When I did that podcast interview, I was separated and living with my parents, but I hadn't announced it on my blog yet. I did let Sarah and Laura know, though, so that they wouldn't ask me any questions that would have awkward answers.
I like your Very Impractical Sports Car; it is beautiful! I'm not much of a car girl, but if I did not need to think about being practical, I would 100% buy myself a Subaru BRZ down the road.
I like your answer to the not-splurging question; sometimes the internet can almost make you feel like it's wrong to enjoy being a bit of a homebody. I personally have never been a big traveler, but I think that's something I still might need to figure out about myself. Is that because of certain circumstances? Might I enjoy travel more under different circumstances? I don't know yet!
I know that southern California is a pretty expensive place to live and I wonder, how does that affect frugal living? Are you surrounded by affluence, and does that make it feel weird to try to save money?
Or are you surrounded by people in over the heads financially?
I love that you don't splurge on travel either. I have little desire to travel and everyone else I know wants to go to far away places. I really wanna see friends and family so I do spend on travel since they are far away but I always feel like the odd one out when I say I probably wouldn't even wanna go to the other side of the globe if someone paid for my travel, ha.
@Maggie,
I could be you, given that most of my travel involves seeing family that is not local and I don/t have a big desire to see all the places that others do.
Thank you for sharing, Megan - I appreciate hearing from a diversity of money managers, it’s what I find so interesting about the Meet the Reader series 🙂
Thank you for sharing today.
I really want to see the California Redwoods. I've been to CA many times to see my sister in SB. Have you been there? Sometimes people don't count trips in their own (large) state as travel.
With kids, it's hard when you're in an area of affluence. We live in a top 10 richest city in the US. The family income isn't our reality though. Moved here for work.
My 6 year old is excited to buy presents for other people this year. She doesn't want all the things, just most of the American Girl doll stuff. Ha!
@April,
I’m not Megan, but I can tell you that the long trip to Redwood National Park from SB is worth it. The Redwoods are awe inspiring!
@Bee, I have to second this. When we took our children to the west coast, I saw the redwoods for the first time, and I think they are easily in my top 3 most amazing places I've seen in the U. S.
@Jody S., Ok, now I need to know the other two! 🙂
@April, I live at the entrance to Sequoia National Park so I am curious about your "California Redwoods". There are 2 varieties in California: in Sequoia Nat'l Park are Sequoia Gigantea, the biggest ones by volume (General Sherman tree, for example); Sequoia Sempervirens are the ones in Northern California, and they are the tallest trees.
Both types are sequoias, also called redwoods. Around here, we often simply call them "the big trees".
@Bobi, The Grand Canyon (the sound!) and Spruce Knob, WV (though I may be biased since I grew up in WV and can see it from my Maryland front porch). I imagine most other peaks in the Appalachians would be similarly impressive.
@April, I have not been to Redwoods, but would definitely like to go. I am more inclined to go places if we can drive instead of fly.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
For those of us in NorCal who have lots of them in their yards, we also call them the Big PITA, lol. Too much shade for solar, roots that stretch for miles, gum up the pipes and require cleaning out at least yearly. Best of all, nothing grows underneath them. We finally stopped trying. We put slate chips in instead of grass. our "lawn" is lovely and saves money on water.
@Megan, I grew up in SoCal and we have rental properties in Palm Desert. We love to visit and hope to one day retire there. We joke that the money you save on heat in the winter, you more than spend on A/C in the summer. Something I love in the Desert is the proliferation of great thrift and consignment stores, and even the Mathis Bros. clearance section. We got a nice wooden table and four chairs for our casita for $80.
Great job on scoring a house in foreclosure. A huge advantage is your property tax basis stays relatively low, which is another great savings.
I think everybody's money stories are interesting. Thanks for participating in Meet a Reader!
@Jody S., I'm from WV, too, and I would agree that Spruce Knob is spectacular - especially if you can see it on a day when it's not foggy.
It’s nice to meet you and thank you for sharing. As the mother of 3 grown children, I do know how hard it is to teach your children about money and to ensure they are financially literate. That must be especially difficult in SoCal where you have pockets of extreme wealth. However, as you said, you do live well within your means and try not to be wasteful with your resources. In this alone, you are being a great example for your kids!!
I have family in California and visit often. The cultural and geographical diversity of this state is astounding. You can drive 3 hours and be in a totally different environment. I wondered what your favorite place is in your state?
Happy holidays to you and your family!
@Bee, we can definitely see the variety in the state when we drive to Sacramento to visit family. My favorite place I've been so far is probably the beaches, just because we didn't have any of those growing up in Colorado.
Thankfully we don't live in one of the most expensive pockets! We're about an hour outside the nearest metro area, so things are a smidge less pricey.
The thing about the expensive pockets is that pay is often higher there. I live in a very expensive city, but make more money than I would in a lot of other places, so it all sort of evens out? I live a similar life to the life I’d probably live in a less expensive area, because the increase in pay sort of balances things out for me. Of course, I’m lucky because I own my house. If I didn’t, I couldn’t stay here because of rising home values and rent… so I’m really lucky in that regard. And there are areas of wealth here where I absolutely can’t afford to live, although I think that’s true in any city?
Megan, you and your DH are geniuses, buying a foreclosed house at a discounted price. That house looks gorgeous! I'm with you about the travel. I used to travel when I was younger but now I have absolutely zero desire to even go a few miles out of my home county.
Very unusual for a Meet a Reader post here to have so many car photos! I enjoyed reading about this.
Nice to meet you, Megan. Thank you for sharing. I think you could have a second career in car advertising with those fun pictures. When I was right out of college, I wanted to spend more than I had, too. I made my worst money decisions then.
Count me in among those who (a) enjoyed the car pictures (couldn't you call your current one the Frugalmobile?) and (b) have lost the urge to travel. (In my case, the urge left me during the pandemic plus DH's decline and has never returned.)
And I also like it that there's such a wide range of types and degrees of frugality among us. We represent many different "points of light" on a spectrum!
@A. Marie,
So true! Frugality takes many forms and I think each Frugal Girl readers has developed a personalized approach to bring thrifty. That’s what makes “Meet the Reader” so interesting.
@Bee, I second (third?) Bee and A. Marie - I really love the diversity of the FG community. It's fun to read about how that plays out in so many different areas and situations!
Megan, thanks for sharing your story! I imagine most of us had a period of what now seems like not-great financial choices, especially when we first started our adult lives. I sure did! And I'd have to say that enjoying the beauty of your desert landscape could count as a frugal distinctive for your area; it's really lovely.
Very nice to meet you! I live in the total opposite of a desert. That seems so interesting.
Thanks for the post, Megan, nice to meet you!
I love traveling! We used to travel a lot, but now with my crummier health it's hard. I almost burst out crying at a FB friend's posts about London last week--just seeing a Tube train pull in made me long for London. We often took babies and toddlers to London and they're some of my most precious memories. I do like where I live, of course.
Despite having had a high income, I've never splurged on any fun vehicles--just very practical stuff. However, I can certainly see the advantage of a convertible in Southern California. I rented one on my most recent trip to LA. Felt good to drive something more fun than my usual Mom-vans.
@Rose, You have my sympathies about travel getting hard. I'd give you a big hug if I could.
@WilliamB, Thanks. Travel next year is something to work towards. Also, I did promise to spread half of BFF's ashes in England. She loved mudlarking, so maybe along the Thames or something.
@Rose, I just learned about mudlarking from a novel that I read. It sounds fun!
@Rose, Two things that made travel easier after I became disabled: take it slower and pay more for better accommodations. Once I changed my mindset and realized the days of running 100 mph to see everything, I was less frustrated and also not as exhausted. (And the more I let myself get exhausted, the worse I feel...for days sometimes) I have fond memories of being in London or NYC and seeing a play in the afternoon and then another one that night, with a fancy dinner in between, but I have finally realized I just cannot do that anymore.
@Lindsey, Oh my goodness I could have written these very words. When DH and I traveled just 12 years ago, we went for 6 weeks covering over 9,000 miles. We stayed at some places we wondered if our car would be there in the morning.
Now we only drive 4 hours a day and stay in a chain hotel we are comfortable in. And we usually do one activity a day instead of something morning, noon and evening.
We are just glad we are still traveling.
@Rose, re: scattering your BFF's ashes along or in the Thames, I respectfully suggest dropping them in at about Hampton Court. That way, she'll get to cruise down a whole wonderful stretch--Richmond, Kew, etc, all the way down to Greenwich. This was a fantasy of mine for my own disposition for a long time.
A. Marie, That's also not a bad idea. She just said "England" so there's plenty to choose from!
Lindsey, I've always been a wuss traveler, since I got sick when I was 24, before I was able to afford to travel overseas. Used to be, I would schedule one event per day, with a nice lunch, and then a stop by either an upmarket department store or M&S or something to pick up dinner, then I'd collapse after. My ex would then leave the kids with me and go out and take photos, etc.
Now, I am lucky if I can walk to the end of my driveway, let alone an afternoon at the V&A (the best place on planet earth in my opinion*). A friend of mine gently forced me today to call to schedule physical therapy. I can't go on like this. I've been putting it off because I hate the TRX so much but I have to become fitter.
*I have a good friend who goes to London all the time and has never been to the British Museum! I'm honestly shocked at people who don't like museums. THE PARTHENON MARBLES! Come on! I shamed him but I think he still didn't go last time. No worries--I am relentless.
My kids are now 23, 25 and 29, 2 boys and a girl. I have always been a composer and shopped sales and thankfully, my kids absorbed much of that. Even my youngest, who got a gift card back in September, held onto it until Black Friday to get clearance items make it go farther and get free shipping. My 25 yo, who is a few states away will add coupons to his grocery store card before he shops. My dd thinks Target is Heaven, but she makes the most of the Dollar Spot and the Circle!!
Yours will absorb what they see and you will be so proud!
PS, we had to do a short sale on our home in March of 2009, but only by 12K. Glad you were able to take advantage of a tough situation.
I can relate to the quarter-life crisis! Those early-twenties were some rough years, both financially and emotionally.
Nice to meet you, Megan! My husband and I are also both engineers in an affluent region, living within our means while aiming to raise kids who are financially savvy.
Thanks for sharing your story. Wanted to highlight the part where you switched careers to increase your income stream- sometimes frugality focuses on reducing outgoing expenses, but less on increasing potential income. Both are factors-- as are time, energy, skill sets, priorities, etc. While plugging metaphorical holes in the finance bucket definitely helps, so does maximizing the income flow. So many variables in the system!!
And I'll echo a previous commenter that I also love the diversity of folks in the FG community. Speaks volumes to how well Kristen does to make this a welcoming and friendly place 🙂
Megan - I, too, am not super-frugal. "We don’t live super frugally, but we do live well within our means and try not to be wasteful with our resources" is a very good description of my life as well. Even so, this group has been super-welcoming and has never done anything close to chastising me for any non-frugality I share.
As for kids, I've seen two things work:
- The first is modeling good choices and telling them about it as you do it. For example "I really want this thing, but I'm going to wait a few days to see" or "I'm going to see if there are any deals on this thing, rather than buying it right now."
- The second is imposing the good behavior on the kids: "I hear that you want this thing. We're going to wait awhile first. Meantime, you see if you can find it at a lower price [or show them how to do that, if they can't do that yet] and other deals to go with it, such as a discount or BOGO offer."
Best of luck - it's a long-term project. You know, like all the other things we teach children.
I come from a traveling family and have traveled a lot with kids. If you're shying away because of the kids, I encourage you to try it. The first trip or two might be a bit hard as you and your kids learn how to do it (what's good behavior on a plane, or not singing 99 Bottles of Beer in the car) but my extended family has found it to be thoroughly rewarding.
Thanks for telling us about yourself. It's good to know I have not-super-frugal company here.
@WilliamB, ....not kicking the plane seat in front of you, even though it's so much fun and at 22 months old, you're really not old enough to understand why not? And Mom's arm is cramping up from holding your legs in the next seat? PRECIOUS MEMORIES.
@WilliamB, thank you for your advice on passing good money habits on to my kids. There are other areas in life where I make sure to narrate what I'm doing to them, I think I need to add narration to my purchasing decisions too!
@Rose, A usually useful response to that is if the parents will take the kid's shoes off. Kicking a seat is much less fun if you're barefoot.
@WilliamB,
I always seem to get the kid behind me kicking me and I have a bad back, so particularly painful.
It's always been hard for me to understand, because by the time I have any memory, and definitely by 2 years old, one look from mom and I was going to stop whatever I was doing and not do it again. And maybe it's different being raised in the German mindset, but I know that by 2 years old, the concept of not hurting someone, kicking was understood by both my nephews.
I only flew with my mother once, but when the kid behind me started kicking, my mother stood up, looked at the mom and the kid and it stopped immediately. lol. It always makes me laugh as a teacher when I see the mom's that have that look.
Ive had people say it sounded too controlling, but as a teacher of 20 plus years, the moms who have that look also have a tight clan of kiddos who appreciate being able to go anywhere because they won't be aproblem. One mom has five below the age of ten. Those kids kids go all over the world!
Hi, Megan,
Welcome! I live in just about the polar opposite of your area, so I always enjoy seeing desert pictures. One can get tired of swamps.
You are frugal, absolutely. If you live within your means and spend consciously, you are frugal.
I like your parents' approach to financial education. Mine didn't deliberately teach us, and I wish they had. I feel sure your message will get through to your kids, if not now, then eventually.
Megan, your "quarter life crisis" decisions make perfect sense. I had my share. We learn from the past. Glad that you were able to take advantage of good timing and find a home in California at a lower price. Travel can be a challenge for the reasons you mention; you just need to plan a trip that would outweigh them (i.e., destination and/or the journey along the way, sightseeing, culture, people, food, etc.). Thanks for sharing a glimpse into your life!
I call the time period after college, after wedding, before children, when we had more money than brains.
I also wasn't much of a world traveler. But now that I have adults and not children I am a bit of a United States traveler.
Good piece and remember frugal people come in all shapes and sizes and bank accounts.
@Amy cheapohmom, I forgot to write that I have a 24-year-old and 23-year-old who are careful with their money. I believe talking to them regarding good and bad choices helped form their money views. When they were in their teens, I did not hide my mistakes and talked about them. What happened and why. Although my mom showed me the basics: budgeting, careful spending habits, looking for a deal. One thing she didn't do was talk about the missteps and how to correct them. Now they come to me before and after making decisions.
I also really love it that you don't want to travel. So many people emphasize "experience over things" and that means travel. I thought there was something wrong with me that I only want to travel to see family. I love my bed and my home and my family so much.
@MommaJo, You do you! If you don't want to travel--it's fine. Accept the way you are and don't listen to anyone who makes you feel bad about it.
I'm a homebody too, although that sounds strange when I say I love to travel. I get separation anxiety very easily and always have even when I was very little.
@Rose, it almost causes me physical pain to leave home. I'm good once in a new place, but that leaving part is such a wrench.
@Rose, thank you. 🙂
I've backed out on "girl trips" with my friends, they sounded like fun, but I don't want to bunk with friends. I made up excuses instead of just telling them I don't like to travel. I make up time with them locally.
Hi Megan, you are so right - this is a lovely place to hang out!
When I was raising my kids, like you I worked hard to instill good money habits. It was easier for me because my kids noticed from very young ages that our family spending habits were very different from those of my sisters or in-laws (none of them bought second-hand). We also lived in an economically depressed area so our neighbors were not big spenders. One of the best surprises I've ever had was complementing my very classy college boy nephew on his outfit and he whispered in my ear "it came from Goodwill." He has a much stronger frugal inclination than his parents or their neighbors.
Thank you for the great interview!
Megan, so fun to read about your life and see your cars. If I made more money, would I drive a nicer car? Nah, but I'd get my '96 Accord painted!
Are you familiar with Dave Ramsey? He has some great resources for teaching kids about money.
I live at the entrance to Sequoia National Park, about 4 hours north of you. If you want to come see our big trees (sequoia gigantea rather than the sequoia sempervirens/coastal redwoods), I can help you find a house to rent (our town is filthy with vacation rentals and my close friend and neighbor manages 8 of them). Kristen can give you my contact info if you are interested.
I've wanted to see the desert in bloom, but the crowds. . . ugh. So, I just soak up the wildflowers where I live when we have good years.
Thank you for sharing your life and photos. Now I want to look up the podcast "Best of Both Worlds".
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I have heard of Dave Ramsey, I didn't know he wrote about educating kids though. I'll have to check that out, thanks for the recommendation.
The common tourist spots for wildflowers can be truly nuts. Those pictures were just taken along the side of the roads when I'm out running, so much better than being stuck in a line of cars to see them!
Living near the Sequoias must be its own kind of beauty. Thank you for your offer.
Hi Megan!
It was nice to hear your perspective. There are a lot of ways to be frugal. It sounds like you live below your means, and to me, that shows a lot of wisdom.
I do enjoy traveling, but when our kids were young, we only traveled to see family. We gradually branched out as they got older, but I totally understand not wanting to go to the trouble and expense if it doesn't seem like it would be fun. If you decide to travel when your kids are older, we have found that airbnb/VRBO makes the experience more fun--there's more space to spread out, you can do your own (simple) meal prep if you choose, and many rentals have a washer/dryer, which makes life sooooo much simpler. Something to tuck away in the back of your mind .....
As for raising kids to be financially literate, besides the training that you received from your parents, I find it helpful to discuss the reasoning behind our spending habits with our kids. I try to be open about dumb money mistakes I have made and how my money management has changed over time. In other words, keep communication open, and have the humility to admit that you make mistakes, too.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Megan! I live near the deserts In California 🙂 I’d say cars and California are very intertwined. I’m not surprised you have a thing for fun cars, especially if you can afford one! So glad you decided to do a Meet the reader! It was nice to meet you!
I'm a homebody too and I'm glad someone else looks at travel as extra work and crapy sleep in hotel rooms. Travel always disturbs my natural eat, sleep, rest cycle and makes me tired and out of sorts.
I'm happy to read that someone else beside me dosen't live to travel. I like my home, I like sleeping in my bed, I enjoy the familiar, etc. I am not tempted to travel, it's really not an interest for me, and very often I feel weird because of it. Listening to people around me and online, I could swear I'm the only "boring close-minded" person alive! (I don't think I'm boring and close-minded but it seems to be the perception of homebodies)
@Isa, someone needs to be home to gather the mail, water the plants, and feed the kitties when the neighbors are circling the globe! Yes, our own beds without wondering when the blanket last got washed, and our own bathrooms where everything is in the right place, no fumbling through the suitcase to find that scrunchie for your ponytail, wondering if it fell out in the last place you staying, and wondering if you will accidentally pick up bedbugs on your suitcase.
Stay-at-homes are reliable and steady, and we need them! ("them"? How about they need us!)
P.S. But I used to love to travel. . . is this reluctance age related?? Sigh.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, "bedbugs in your suitcase" reminds me of a story about my grandson when he was only two. His family came back from a trip to Las Vegas and just plopped their opened suitcases in their bedrooms while they rested. After a while my grandson cane running out, "Mommy, mommy there's an ant in your suitcase." Mom went back to look for the ant and it was a giant cockroach that had hitched a ride back to Cakifornia.
Thanks for sharing with us, Megan! Over the weekend I was thinking about how unique this community is and what a gift it is to have people from all over - then the very next day my rural Michigan self gets to "meet" a reader from Southern California. So very cool!
I sure enjoy this weekly feature.
Super frugal or not it's fun to read people's stories.
Megan, I love "Bank of the Parents."
Count me as another one who enjoyed this interview because I'm also not frugal by most standards but am living within my means. It's fun to see so many different personalities and lifestyles here!
Hi Megan. I too had difficulty with my sons wanting everything. My husband and decided to give an allowance. When they wanted something they could put it on a list for a birthday or Christmas gift or purchase it themselves. We did not give extravagant allowance about $5 a week. We also had a posting of jobs for hire if they wanted more cash. This way they learned how to save for something. Also if they came shopping and wanted something but didn't have the money i would loan them the money for 10%. We would have them pay us back. They money they paid us went to their college funds.
My parents also had me save money from my paychecks in high-school, I had my kids save 50% of their paychecks telling them they will need it later I college.
My 17 year old son just loves to buy “stuff”
He uses his money from his isrtvtine job, but it still makes me cringe!
I’m finding the best way to have him “learn” how to manage his money and be responsible is to allow him to make money mistakes.
Has $5.36 in his account after buying a new PlayStation? Looks like you will not be spending any money until your next paycheck.
We have him pay for his car insurance and his gas as well.
Hoping some good habits are learned during this tedious process, as he is not frugal like his parents right now
I also found Kristen after her Best of Both Worlds interview and am not super frugal. Thanks for sharing your story!
thanks for posting. love the photos of your cars. a really interesting read. you are lucky to have parents who taught you about money. my parents just argued about my mom spending too much. i don't own a car but i love to travel.
Thank you for sharing. It’s good to read the story of someone who’s made a few money mistakes, considering that I’ve made what feels like a lot! I aim for frugality but don’t always succeed. I do keep trying though.
Hi Megan-I love your post. Thank you for sharing. I want to respond to your comment that you and your husband are 'privileged in that we both have good-paying jobs and have more than enough money to cover the bills' - girl, this is not a privilege! you both worked hard to go to college and get an engineering degree - you made the hard decision to move from your home to California to better yourself - you work hard for your engineering pay! I applaud you for this. IT IS NOT EASY TO BE A FEMALE IN THAT WORLD! (I know because I am a female in that world.)
I love the Tesla. (I think that is a model 3.) I make parts for Tesla S, X, and Cybertruck and am very proud to be associated with that. I do not own one because the miles on the battery does not make sense for me because I drive more than 130 miles per day to the plant and there are NO charging stations locally. If one ever becomes available - I'm in!