Transcript
Speaker: What's the most money you ever made doing something completely random or slightly unhinged as a kid? Keep it legal. I'm i the only street kid on the on the on the podcast right now. Everybody else is straight lace. John is 100% a hundred percent street kid. Definitely from the street.
Speaker: I think the most money I ever received is doing a postal. printing a poster board for a church. Oh. And received $50 for that.
Speaker: Wow. As a teenager? Yes. Different times. completely random. My dad had a grocery store, Woody's Market. It was on Jefferson. It was next to a drug store. I mean, a liquor store called R&R. And r now they're both combined R&R drive-in.
Speaker: But I used to do stocking in both of those stores where wasn't old enough. But as I did that and I stocked groceries in the grocery store.
Speaker: Oh, wow. And you got paid? I did. Okay. When I first started community college, we had Pell Grants. The most money I ever saw was when we got the return checks from the Pell Grant.
Speaker: You know, after you pay for your books, classes, and everything, the the check came to you. So you pay for all your classes and all your books, and then you can spend the rest of the money.
Speaker: And there was no loans. You didn't need any loans. So that's probably the most money I ever saw. thousand, literally like $1,700 semester. Until I got to Wayne State, of course, that was totally different.
Speaker: So much for that. Nothing left over. Nothing left over with loan. Good while it lasted. I entered a drawing into the state fair. Maybe was like seven or eight.
Speaker: and i And I got like maybe an honorable mention. So they gave me like $5. But they put it up. It was in the in the little showcase area. Yeah. And I thought that was a big deal. Okay.
Speaker: That was probably, you know, outside of working, just like something random that I did. And I think it was like pictures of Care Bears and rainbows or something like that. Okay. I remember used to enter that stuff. That was fun.
Speaker: And you made money. So. Legally. Legal money. And your artwork on display for all to see. Can't put a price tag on that. When I was a caddy, I made $500 in one week. And that was cool.
Speaker: And I took my brother and sister, I took them to the skating rink. I went and bought me these ugly Converse gym shoes. They were ugly as hell, but I wanted them so bad. and I went and spent $100 on that. And I took myself to the movies to see Spider-Man 2. I made $500 that weekend.
Speaker: I was excited. That was probably the most money I had ever seen at that time. And I spent it probably within a couple of days. That that money was gone. i encourage any team to go try to get become a golf caddy. They make real good money for kids.
Speaker: I would say the lemonade stands i did I did at the church. Those, ah because when we had the picnics, we would have a bunch of people come. and it and know would And of course, it was a summertime, so it was hot outside.
Speaker: i would say, because I think we did like what, me and the youth program, we did three of those, I think. Oh, wow. And yeah, we would and we will make good money for the church every time. i'm in And that money would go to the programs at the church.
Speaker: Sierra Point, the tutoring time program, and the museums. That is very cool.
Speaker: Hey, and welcome back to the Yay for Adulting podcast. I'm your host, Lisa. and This is part two of our summer and part-time jobs episode from our Back in My Day series.
Speaker: Today, I'm joined by four different generations. Mom, and I'm a boomer. Albert, and I am a boomer. John, Gen X. I'm Shannon, Gen X.
Speaker: Joe, the millennium. Justin, Gen Z. All right. Welcome, everybody.
Speaker: Having money is one thing. What you did with it says a lot more about who you were at that age. Some of us saved every penny and some of us spin it the second it hit our hands.
Speaker: And some of us learned a hard money lesson because nobody was managing the money for us. So here's the question. What's the first thing you remember buying with your own money?
Speaker: And did you save any of it? First of all, I'll tell you a short story. After graduating high school, I migrated to Detroit because I knew in my hometown, Columbus, Georgia, did not have jobs. So I got my first job in Chrysler, where they were offering me, which I didn't know anything about, stock, benefit, vacation.
Speaker: At that particular time, I knew that I would never go back to Columbus to work because my hometown did not offer anything like that. And so I moved here and lived with my aunt for about a month.
Speaker: And when I got my first paycheck, I got myself an a apartment. Wow. So after working for a month, you were able to get your first apartment? Yes, because Chrysler paid well.
Speaker: All right, Mom. Well, this is a step down, but first thing I bought was a pair of dress shoes. I wore, I had Sunday shoes, which were my dress shoes, and school shoes, which were Oxford. But when I graduated from eighth grade, I wanted a pair of new shoes and I wanted a pair of white shoes.
Speaker: Oh, nice. And so, now this was in the mid-60s. So my mother took me downtown and she waited in the car. She says, you you want to go old shoes? You know, this is something you did. So I went to Cain's Halls. Oh, okay.
Speaker: And the pair shoes... the cheapest pair of white shoes I wanted I didn't have enough money for and was just short a little bit and i had tried on the shoes and they fit perfectly and when counted my money I didn't have enough and I was leaving and salesperson who was white said oh you know what they just went on sale oh okay And she said, how much do you have?
Speaker: and You know, and I showed her how much I have. She said, that'll cover it. In Nashville. And this is before they had the sit-ins in that same downtown. But how cool of a salesperson.
Speaker: Just to know it was your first purchase. And that is, that's ah that's a nice story. think Well, thank you. Okay. John. I've always been a saver. So my first purchase was, ah I bought behind a Honda, a 1980 Honda. That was like 1988, my first large purchase.
Speaker: After saving money, I spent money, but I would say at least half of my money and not spend it all. I learned the value of money probably really early in life. Funny story, after getting the car and everything, still saving money, I was seen as one of the people that the family used to come to and borrow money. And that ah unfortunately continues today. They called me the source. As I always had hundred, 200, $300 saved up somewhere. So I learned how to save. and And I didn't know about investments then, but I think that started me on my journey of just being able to value money and not spend all your money.
Speaker: Don't run up your credit. Just learn how to be responsible with your money. So I bought, again, I bought that green Honda and then I bought the red sunbird and then the grand prix all on a ah paper route. I mean,
Speaker: I used to get trolled in the neighborhood, which was funny, but my troll back was like, you're walking and you're talking about me having a paper route. o Still having a paper route and you were walking.
Speaker: Are you serious, bro? So I used to work also at the at the school, Wayne County. I had a couple of jobs and saved money. and Also got the first apartment after that.
Speaker: Moved out early, 17. Had to move back, of course, but I moved out at 17, moved back. But my first large purchase was $1,000 for a green 1980 Green Honda. And that Green Honda lasted four years.
Speaker: Oh, wow. Yeah. If it didn't rust out, probably still then. it still started it only thing i had replaced was a clutch it was a stick that was the only thing i had replaced on that that car came from california actually that was the funny part when he moved had moved from california and that's why i rested so bad but the third winner was like done all right santa how about you So my first repurchase that I remember with my Baskin Robin Hood's money, it's also the shoe story.
Speaker: There were these black Fila boots that I wanted so bad. They had this orange trim. Oh, sweet. So I bought them. However, they did not have my size, but that didn't matter.
Speaker: Cause when you're yelling, you do the stupid things. I bought them anyway. It squoze my feet into those shoes for as long as I could, because they were like, they were sweet looking black Fila boots. I mean, it was enough where I would, and I would wear them to school because they didn't look like gym shoes. Like they looked like boots.
Speaker: I would wear them all day. But, you know, by the the my feet would be crying. You know, we'd do the dumb things when we were young. But yes, I wanted those boots so bad. So I had my summer basket robbing money and I got it right before school started in the fall.
Speaker: So I would wear toe shoes and it was kind of like the same thing, the same kind of binding. so Nice. All right, Joel. First memorable purchase.
Speaker: My first bad purchase was ah I got my first shake from Burger King when I was 16. It was like $300. And I took my friends to the mall and I bought my homie this stupid, if I rule the world, the world is yours, Shane, from the middle the mall.
Speaker: It was like a hundred in bucks. It was dumb, but it was funny because because I think I bought me an outfit. I bought him that chain and then i we just hung out at the mall. But dude took the chain and allowed the, because there was like ah a pool at the apartment we stayed in.
Speaker: And the pool attendant convinced him that if he cleaned the chain with chlorine, it'll sparkle. He turned that thing into dust. It was, it looked like a rusty pipe by the time he got done with that, with that chlorine. He put that chlorine on that chain. He was mad, but he was mad.
Speaker: But yeah, that was that's my first memorable purchase. I've always been a selfless type with my money. Like I said, I used to take my my brother and sister out skating all the time and we'd just go hang out at the arcade.
Speaker: I wasn't the best at saving. My first first real big purchase was ah the 99 Monte Carlo. that I proceeded to crash within like three months because i would just be out all night and one morning on my way to work I fell asleep behind a wheel yeah and that's when I learned you know priorities matter you know you can't just stay up all night and then think you gonna go to work in the morning either prioritize sleep or call off of work you can't do both so shoes and cars shoes cars maybe some chains hey Justin all right so what's the first thing you remember buying with your own money
Speaker: My car, actually, because let me see, this is the first time where I actually had to go like through a process of doing all this paperwork, putting a down payment, learning about car payment. Like I said, want to be more independent, so went into an actual dealership, buy a fresh new car, my own money that I saved. But your first car, you got off of Craigslist.
Speaker: Yeah, Craigslist, yeah. And surprisingly, actually went pretty well, actually. Craigslist! Oh, my God. Yeah, because you hear about these likeking out these marketplace scams. and Well, yeah, marketplace scams, regular scams. Yeah, this this one makes you run pretty well.
Speaker: All right, for some of us, working wasn't optional. It was just what you did. For others, there was usually an end goal. Concert tickets, new wardrobe for school, car, shoes...
Speaker: Whether it was allowance or earned paycheck or instructions to get a job from your parents, that expectation or the lack of one shapes how many of us think about work today.
Speaker: So the question, did your parents expect you to work for money? And how did that shape the way you think about money today? Once again, i learned that money is power and began transition from one job to another. And I think the last one was 17 years of age. I worked in a department store in my hometown. with the same, what I can say, class as maces.
Speaker: And I worked in a sign shop, and I printed signs for the store using a lithograph. From that particular point on, they never expected me to ask them for a dime. Because they would not give it.
Speaker: Well, I wasn't expected to work, but I was expected to keep busy. And so I was candy striper at Meharry Hospital. I did that. I was a Girl Scout. I was in junior achievement. So I was always busy doing some activity, not necessarily a paid activity, but I was expected to be busy.
Speaker: Okay. And that can definitely seem like a job, especially if that's the expectation and you get allowance. Growing up in a household with that many people, if you wanted your own stuff, you had to work. If you wanted anything for yourself other than the food that was provided and running water, lights and power, or you wanted candy for yourself, you wanted shoes that didn't slide you across the floor, you had to work. If you wanted it anything other than the basic stuff,
Speaker: necessities in life those bear necessities and hand medos you didn't want really won't hand me down anymore either if they've been handed down three times from two uncles to ah to i was the first nephew so you didn't want those you didn't want rustlers pants You had to walk like a robot.
Speaker: You wanted some Levi's. So at an early age, you had to work. And so you had houses. You had a lot. You you can do one or two blocks in or of money for first all the things that we've named earning money and being able to go get what you wanted versus what your parents was going to. My grandmother or mother was able to afford to give me.
Speaker: Well, we had chores and when I say we got allowance for doing chores, like that was required. Like we had to do our chores. We had a chore chart, a chore schedule that had to be done.
Speaker: I don't think we, I don't remember saying like you have to start working. I think we just wanted to just so we can, you know, have some extra money, have a little, it's like when you're younger, you're always going to the grownup things. And then when you're growing up, you want to do younger people things. Welcome to adulthood. I don't know. I think we were just raised to be responsible. And I think that just came to be a part of it was wanted to have a job and have that little taste of independence. Yeah.
Speaker: Having your own money and being able to have have a car and go out and do things and, you know, take yourself to work, take yourself to school and just, you know, be a little grownish. don't think I necessarily expected to work for my own money. i guess I could say, yeah, because I wasn't giving anything. Nothing was like giving a Like John had mentioned, if it wasn't the essentials, you wasting your time either asking for it. So I think I just developed my own self-awareness of if I want something, I have to go find a way to get it. I think that was more...
Speaker: my experience i mentioned earlier there was one time i did help my mother with bills when i had the paper route but other than that yeah i i just developed self-awareness to where if if i wanted something i knew to go get it and that just gave me you know work ethic i would never profess to be the most financially literate person but i've always if if i want something i don't just sit and complain about it i always try to make a way to get what i want And so, yeah, that's, that's, that's how it shaped my perspective of money. If if you want something, find a way to go get it. There's always an opportunity around the corner. As long as you're willing to put in that work ethic, you can make almost anything happen.
Speaker: I wasn't really never asked about getting a job. Like I just did like said, I've been working ever since I was 14. They never really expected it me. Cause I guess I was an independent child. Like, i don't know. I was, so I was an independent child. Unlike, uh,
Speaker: But like looking at my my brother, especially my little brother, he's 18 and he still doesn't have a job. So I'm going to say no, they didn't expect me to get it. They didn't expect me to get a job because of what my brother's doing right now. I mean, obviously now because he's 18. But yeah, so but looking at him, I'm going to say no, they didn't. They expect me to get a job like I just did myself. I applied myself. did Yeah, pretty much everything with no help.
Speaker: And without them asking me.
Speaker: the paper route and the lemonade stand haven't completely disappeared, but they have some new competition. And we're not here to shame anybody, 100% anyway.
Speaker: Jobs have just changed, right? So there's no longer, you're you're not selling lemonade. and Maybe you've opened up a TikTok shop or you don't have a paper route. You are doing a get ready with me for products on TikTok or on Instagram.
Speaker: This is just different. What does making money as a kid actually look like right now? And then if you could hand down one lesson about earning money to this generation, what would it be?
Speaker: If you can learn to give it back to a Black person, maybe at least two Black individuals, the money that you earn, give it back to them and let it flow through a Black family for at least three or four days before it goes back out into the world.
Speaker: That would be what I would say. If you possibly can find a Black propriety, purchase your good from him or her. Okay. Yeah, i like that. So having money and then keeping it in the community, really, and really making an effort to spend with other people in the community before it leaves and goes out into out there.
Speaker: I like that. Today, i don't know what kids are doing to earn money. I would say learn to save early. Whatever you get, they save a small amount of everything that you have that comes in. So when you need it, it's there.
Speaker: To me, it should be easier. There's so many jobs you can, like you said, you can do on the internet. If you use the tools that they have, you don't have to leave the house like we did. We had to leave house to make money, go on a paper route, work at the restaurant.
Speaker: With the digital age, like you said, you can get on TikTok. Of course, you got to come up with a product. But you can edit videos. You can do some marketing. Instead of just playing video games, I think it's actually easier for kids to make money if they get good at what the tools could be used for. and Instead of just for entertainment, you could be able to make a lot of money.
Speaker: And as far as advice, just like mom just said, just whatever you earn, try to save at least 5% or 10% of to put away in the bank, in the savings account, in the IRA, whatever. Try to save a little bit so it can grow over time.
Speaker: You might have to dip in it for emergencies, but try to save some of it so it can start earning more potential for you over time. Well, I think they are missing out on opportunity to get outside and do some work because if they're if it's still, you're in a place where there's snow, snow still needs to get shoveled. Even chores around the house, chores need to get done.
Speaker: If you want allowance, you have to get off your butt and do them. So I think there's still, but kids don't want to go outside a lot, not all in general, they'd rather be inside. So I think they have missed opportunity because I think people, especially older people like that human connection, not everybody is going online to buy stuff. So there could still be a lemonade stand.
Speaker: There could still be kids take building and crafts and taking them to reverence on them. So I think, There's still some opportunities for that. And I think some advice I would give is to invest early, learn about the stock market, take some of your money and invest because what you can invest in when you're 15, who knows how well that stock can do by the time you hit 25, 30.
Speaker: um So that would be one thing I would encourage younger people to do is learn and look into the the stock market and utilize it. The point I was going to make that they have so much easier access to money through the internet.
Speaker: They can create fan, fan accounts for different types of cartoons, anime. They can stream their can video games and all of that. But because the access to money is so easy for them, a lot of the younger generation, they're entitled and they're lazy. So I agree with Shannon on the point that the balance is necessary where they still get outside and experience developing a work ethic because in order to be successful at anything, if you're gonna be a gaming streamer, you're gonna create fan page, whatever you're gonna do, you have to have a work ethic.
Speaker: see a lot of kids who all want to be a streamer. I just want to get on the game and just stream it, but they don't understand search engine optimization. They don't understand marketing. They don't understand audio interfaces or video cards. They don't understand anything that goes into actually developing and producing something that could be profitable.
Speaker: And they get frustrated and they get even more lazy and they feel entitled because they see how easy it is for other kids. So my advice would be learn how to invest, but more so financially, If anybody in a younger generation is listening, don't be afraid to have work ethic. Don't be afraid to go out there and do the hard work to get. And it's whatever you want to do. I don't judge a kid for whatever they want to do. If you want to be a professional gamer, there's kids making millions of dollars playing Mortal Kombat tournaments. But those same kids are have engineering degrees.
Speaker: So that should tell you still have to do some type of work in order to get to that level of success. There's kids who... made a million dollars a year paying 2k but those kids also have marketing master's degrees so it it goes hand in hand you know the they have more access to the money it's a lot easier for them to get to it but that also makes them lazier and more entitled so my advice would be don't be afraid to work hard There's a lot of opportunities he's out there. About a year ago, California just passed the law. Minimum wage is $20 an hour for fast food, though. don't know it is in the movie theater in the um phone stores. I heard that one of the, because my brother, he is applying for jobs, though, with the help of my dad. So one of the stores is the AT&T store. oh out picture Oh, I didn't know you helped. Sorry. And mom. I helped with dad and mom. Yeah. Um, yeah, what AT&T stores? Cause he's, I mean, he's really smart and he likes technology. So why not be around phones and tablets all day? Like those fun shops, I guess, like phone stores. Don't let you know that you want to be around.
Speaker: mean, Sean, you have talk about working at yogurt land and he likes ice cream. So I would say i what I would tell him is just like do something that you don't just, I mean, at this point,
Speaker: That's pretty much what people are doing right now because it's so hard to find a job. So they're just like, you know, applying, applying. And so they can just find a job. But I would say stick to something that you and you know you want to do.
Speaker: That's why I would tell them. If you're getting ready for your first job or know someone who is, head on over to yayforadulting.com for our free first paycheck checklist.
Speaker: It'll help you figure out what to do with the money before you accidentally spend the whole thing. You can also find the link in the YouTube description for this video. Thanks for hanging out with us. And remember, progress over perfection.
Speaker: See you next time.
