Money (help adults)

[Cpt.JackSpearow]

Im 11, and I always seem to have such a hard time making money. The best I have done is make 108 dollars in a month. Is 1,000 dollars cheep to you guys? I see people with 4 cars, a motorcycle and a house. How much does it take to get expensive for you?

 

[AKLRULZ]

Long road ahead of you if you're worrying about money at age 11. Have fun and enjoy life while you're a kid. Just my honest opinion.

 

[HonestAbe]

And what did you do with that $108? Did you blow it on video games or comics?

I grew up DIRT poor living in a trailer and a computer - hah - that would have never been introduced in my house! I have a house and 3 cars which I wanted since I was a kid and still I dont feel financially stable or viable. But if someone had talked to me at your age perhaps things would have been different.

If you are REALLY interested in making money and being wealthy, I recommend you read a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad. You will be surprised at what you learn from that book. I personally think that if you want something in your life - it's up to you to go get it. And you obviously want to have money to be comfortable. And the way you get those things is not by blowing your hard earned dollars on video games.

Or you could listen to the sage advice of others and play like all the other 11 year olds in your neighborhood. But if you do those things and change the way you look at money by the time you're in your 20's you will be the envy of all of your friends and family.

It's not just how much you make - but more importantly what you do with it after it's in your pocket.

 

[barkley]

is $1000 cheap? well, it depends on what i am purchasing with it and weather i want it or it is a necessity. it also depends on how much use the item will get.

i can do quite allot with $1000-one or two months groceries for a family of 4,
2 months of private school tuition for 2 kids, all my air and other transportation costs from california to wdw, many months of car insurance, 3 years of my cell phone bills, 5 years of my dsl bills.

some things i base my perspective of weather they are cheap or not based on how many hours of work it takes me to earn them. if the item i 'want' is not worth (to me) the number of hours i would have to work to aquire it-i don't consider it cheap.

$1000 may not sound like allot to someone who earns very good wages-but i'de like to point out that in many places $1000 is an entire month's salary for many people. in california the minimum wage is about to be raised, but let's use the figure of 8.00 per hour-a person working a hard, manual labor job would have to work 40 hours per week for an entire month to see-after taxes-just under $1000. so for them it's looking at weather something is as valuable as to work all those long, hard hours.

yes allot of people have a house, several cars and sometimes a recreational vehical, but for the most part those are all financed and they are paying interest on top of the purchase price for the luxury of having those items before doing the actual work to earn them.

when does something get expensive for me? when the cost exceeds the value of what i will receive/have to work to earn it. an example-i think going to the movies is crazy expensive. for 4 people it runs $34 for tickets, drinks, popcorn and hotdogs or a box of candy runs another $30 minimum. i can get a better 'value' by renting a movie & buying the same candy ($5.50), microwaving popcorn, serving the same sodas and getting the same hot dogs at my local fastfood ($10). i can do the same activity, get the same value for 25% less the financial cost. on the other hand i am spending over $200 for tickets to the circus this month (5 people) and i know i will spend close to $100 on food, parking and the like-but it's not something i can do in a less expensive manner on my own. i 'value' the opportunity for my kids to have an opportunity to experience this so while it is 'costly' i don't perceive it to be overly 'expensive'.

 

[Maleficent13]

At 11 I'm going to say $108 in a month is pretty good, considering you're limited by what you can do. In a couple years, you could start babysitting. I started when I was 14, and soon I was making about $1000/month in the summer and maybe $300-400/month during the school year.

One thing I did was get a passbook savings acct from the bank and put my money in it. That way, in order to access it, I actually had to go withdraw it during banking hours, which means there was no impulse buying. It really helped me plan and save.

Good luck to you.

 

[golfgal]

I have 2 11 year olds. Occasionally they want to earn money to buy something. We have a list of jobs they can do around the house that are money making job, otherwise known as jobs mom doesn't like to do so I will pay you to do them like scrubbing the kitchen floor.

For people with 4 cars and all the toys they get the money by earning it, working hard, doing their job well, all of this after going to school and getting a good education.

Everyone is going to be different in what they think is expensive/cheep. It is all relative. I read once that if Bill Gates saw a $100 bill on the ground that it would 'cost' him money in his time to bend down and pick it up, meaning he makes more then $100/minute or whatever, whereas if you saw a $100 bill on the ground it would seem like a fortune and be one of the best days of your life.

 

[minkydog]

Congratulations on being so industrious! I hope you are saving some of your money for later. but it's okay to spend some of it on things that adults might call frivolous. My 20yo son started out about your age doing odd jobs--weeding, mowing grass, babysitting, painting. Sometimes he would hire other kids to do his chores and pay them with his yard-work money He always has money in his pockets. John has worked & saved up money to buy his own Xbox, a large TV, and many games. In fact, he knows so much about video games, Blockbuster gave him a job! Now he helps parents pick out appropriate movies & games at the video store. He has been the top salesman in his district for the last 3 months!

It takes a long time to save up $1000 no matter how old you are. And yes, $1000 is a lot of money! Don't let the fact that you are only 11 make you feel like you can't succeed. You can do it

 

[HonestAbe]

I read once that if Bill Gates saw a $100 bill on the ground that it would 'cost' him money in his time to bend down and pick it up, meaning he makes more then $100/minute or whatever, whereas if you saw a $100 bill on the ground it would seem like a fortune and be one of the best days of your life.

Funny you would mention that. I personally knew on a first name basis and worked for a person who will remain unnamed who is worth approximately 12 billion and owns/runs a major entertainment company. I can tell you that he would not hesitate to pick up a dime off the concrete. He has provided many people the opportunity to make wealth beyond reason. They all buy gigantic houses and drive luxury cars...you get the picture. And yet he is the richest by far, drives used cars and lives in a 3000 square ft ranch home. I can tell more stories about him but suffice to say that he and the people close to him are as rich as they are because they look at money far differently than the other 99.99% of us.

 

[golfgal]

Funny you would mention that. I personally knew on a first name basis and worked for a person who will remain unnamed who is worth approximately 12 billion and owns/runs a major entertainment company. I can tell you that he would not hesitate to pick up a dime off the concrete. He has provided many people the opportunity to make wealth beyond reason. They all buy gigantic houses and drive luxury cars...you get the picture. And yet he is the richest by far, drives used cars and lives in a 3000 square ft ranch home. I can tell more stories about him but suffice to say that he and the people close to him are as rich as they are because they look at money far differently than the other 99.99% of us.

Very true. It's called the Millionaire Next Door. I know the owner of DH's old company was very simple and plain. You would NEVER guess he was worth 800 million dollars. We were on a work trip once and the brother of the owner and his wife were on the trip with us. The wives were all going to the spa, having their nails and hair done, etc. and we were telling this lady about it and how she should sign up for an appointment. Her response, "I don't think I could afford it". She was up in arms that the lady charged her $20 to do her hair, the woman at home only charged $15. It was really funny. Her husband was the President of the company at the time and was making several million/year.

 

[disykat]

My 13 year old son has over $1500 saved. We're very proud since he worked for most of it. We give him very little extra spending money (don't laugh, but my kids get their grade level a MONTH for allowance - he currently gets $8 a month). Occasionally he gets money from grandparents but that accounts for maybe $50 a year.

He got his first paying job (we don't pay for him to work at home) sweeping and weeding around the entrance to our neighborhood for the Home Owner's Association. At 12 he started mowing our own lawn (again, we don't pay him) and when the neighbors saw him they started asking. He has been mowing lawns and setting sprinklers for several neighbors for over a year.

He asked for a leaf blower for his 13th birthday. Now he does leaf blowing for the neighbors too. As he gets stronger he is able to do more. He weedwacks too. The more neighbors that see him working - the more that ask. Another neighbor called yesterday and wants him to help move some boxes and do touch up painting on their deck. He has also done some petsitting. He may start babysitting, but he enjoys yard work.

You can make money through hard work and saving. My other son is 11 and has about $3 spending money. If he gets money, he immediately spends it. We have "forced" him to put some money in his savings account and he has $140 in there. The only paying job he's had is helping is brother petsit for neighbors. He needs to mature a bit before the neighbors start asking him to do things. He doesn't like yard work like his brother so he's thinking he may concentrate his efforts on petsitting, babysitting, and maybe watering.

I think $108 in a month is great. If you save most of it, you could have over $1000 easily in one year!

 

[Cpt.JackSpearow]

I was just wondering because seeing my parents paying 50 bucks every week to me seems like 108$ is cheap. Im becoming a runescape member and paying 5 bucks a month. I didnt think 1000$ dollars was cheap, because a single car is like 15,000 dollars. My family has 3 plus 3 motorcycles and a pretty big house with a pretty big yard. With alot of stuff. I was thinking if I started making money young I would have alot to grow on as I get older.

 

[Cpt.JackSpearow]

Also, Im making a website to make other websites for people. I am still working on it and my friend wants me to make 1, he is giving me 500$ dollars. I guess thats pretty good, Im also making my own online game, Im sure I will get alot of money off of that, yet I have to spend at least 4,000 or more to make it.

 

[disykat]

I think sometimes kids like you who have lots of money floating around have to work HARDER to keep their expectations about money realistic.