My Old Paper Route, Take 2
Earlier this year I wrote about the job delivering newspapers I had as a child. In that blog I posed the question, "Was I even making minimum wage?" I determined I was paid well below minimum wage. That finding soured my view of the job in hindsight. That's bittersweet, though, because as a child age 10-12 I thought the newspaper route was great money.
I remember the day I got the job. Coincidentally I'd been paging through the Sears catalog that morning, mooning over the exciting toys like advanced Lego sets and radio-controlled cars I'd probably never have because my family was poor. I'd get maybe one toy like that each year as a Christmas gift. When the call came that afternoon confirming I had the job I picked that Sears catalog again. But instead of flipping through it, idly mooning over nice things I thought I'd never get to enjoy, I browsed it with an aura of command. That second time through I knew I could buy anything in it if I saved up my money.
Anything does not mean everything, of course. I harbored no illusion that newspaper route money would turn me into Richie Rich. And furthermore I didn't even plan to spend all of the $60 or so per month I initially estimated I'd earn. My parents told me to plan to put most of it in savings, and I did. I didn't know what I was saving for but I did it anyway. I was a good kid that way. My first budget was $50 of savings and $10 of spending per month.
$10 a month spending money wasn't going to buy me a fancy Lego set or an RC car. Even back then those toys were around $50. But again, I wasn't looking to be Richie Rich. What changed my whole perspective was the new ability to choose what to save up for and spend my own money on.
I remember the day I got the job. Coincidentally I'd been paging through the Sears catalog that morning, mooning over the exciting toys like advanced Lego sets and radio-controlled cars I'd probably never have because my family was poor. I'd get maybe one toy like that each year as a Christmas gift. When the call came that afternoon confirming I had the job I picked that Sears catalog again. But instead of flipping through it, idly mooning over nice things I thought I'd never get to enjoy, I browsed it with an aura of command. That second time through I knew I could buy anything in it if I saved up my money.
Anything does not mean everything, of course. I harbored no illusion that newspaper route money would turn me into Richie Rich. And furthermore I didn't even plan to spend all of the $60 or so per month I initially estimated I'd earn. My parents told me to plan to put most of it in savings, and I did. I didn't know what I was saving for but I did it anyway. I was a good kid that way. My first budget was $50 of savings and $10 of spending per month.
$10 a month spending money wasn't going to buy me a fancy Lego set or an RC car. Even back then those toys were around $50. But again, I wasn't looking to be Richie Rich. What changed my whole perspective was the new ability to choose what to save up for and spend my own money on.