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Rubyee · 08-25-2005, 08:17 AM

It's true- it is only money.

Let's look at this from another point of view.

When I was a kid, I wore hand me down clothes and clothes we got from the salvation army. My favorite thing to do was decorate my clothes with puff-paint to make them seem new. I didn't have a pair of jeans until I entered junior high.

The mall to me was Target. It was not the toy store, followed by The Children's Place, followed by the theatre and the arcade. It was Target- get in, get out, and spend less than $50 on all three children and the parents.

Dinner was never out. It was in. It was something simple out of a box with a can of vegetables. Lunch was always home lunch rather than school lunch. I had a sandwich and a quarter to buy a milk. It wasn't a sandwich and potato chips and a candybar and a juicebox like the lunch of everyone next to me.

My parents couldn't have made more than $60,000 a year, especially since my father found it impossible to hold down a job for more than a year. But we survived. I didn't have my own car until I moved out and took out the loan for one. I bought my own clothes with the money I made holding down part time jobs in high school.

When I look around at the kids I grew up with, the kids whose parents could spend a fortune on them, I am the one that should be fortunate. I have very little debt. I have a nice home and nice furniture to go inside it. I have a nice car. I have new clothes and shoes. I can go out to a nice dinner every once in a while just because I feel like it, because I understand the value of money, and what I need and don't need.

I see the spoiled kids, and they are racking up the credit card debt, and their new cars are falling into disrepair because they are too expensive to afford insurance on so the accident they got into has not been fixed. They call home to mom and dad whenever they spend too much money on a new handbag or pair of leather shoes and can't buy ramen.

It doesn't take a lot to raise a kid properly. Mostly you need values, morals, and love. Half of my parents had that, and I spent most of my childhood with the betterhalf. Yes, it is expensive, and I don't know how people afford day care, doctor's visits, and especially Back To School Clothes. But not having the newest stuff or the best food will not harm a child. If anything, it makes them stronger.

Plus, low income households get a lot of help with things like day care and food for children. You can also just hope that your child turns out like me and is smart enough to start school a year before all the other kids.

08-25-2005, 08:17 AM	#26 (permalink)
Rubyee I'm baaaaack!	It's true- it is only money. Let's look at this from another point of view. When I was a kid, I wore hand me down clothes and clothes we got from the salvation army. My favorite thing to do was decorate my clothes with puff-paint to make them seem new. I didn't have a pair of jeans until I entered junior high. The mall to me was Target. It was not the toy store, followed by The Children's Place, followed by the theatre and the arcade. It was Target- get in, get out, and spend less than $50 on all three children and the parents. Dinner was never out. It was in. It was something simple out of a box with a can of vegetables. Lunch was always home lunch rather than school lunch. I had a sandwich and a quarter to buy a milk. It wasn't a sandwich and potato chips and a candybar and a juicebox like the lunch of everyone next to me. My parents couldn't have made more than $60,000 a year, especially since my father found it impossible to hold down a job for more than a year. But we survived. I didn't have my own car until I moved out and took out the loan for one. I bought my own clothes with the money I made holding down part time jobs in high school. When I look around at the kids I grew up with, the kids whose parents could spend a fortune on them, I am the one that should be fortunate. I have very little debt. I have a nice home and nice furniture to go inside it. I have a nice car. I have new clothes and shoes. I can go out to a nice dinner every once in a while just because I feel like it, because I understand the value of money, and what I need and don't need. I see the spoiled kids, and they are racking up the credit card debt, and their new cars are falling into disrepair because they are too expensive to afford insurance on so the accident they got into has not been fixed. They call home to mom and dad whenever they spend too much money on a new handbag or pair of leather shoes and can't buy ramen. It doesn't take a lot to raise a kid properly. Mostly you need values, morals, and love. Half of my parents had that, and I spent most of my childhood with the betterhalf. Yes, it is expensive, and I don't know how people afford day care, doctor's visits, and especially Back To School Clothes. But not having the newest stuff or the best food will not harm a child. If anything, it makes them stronger. Plus, low income households get a lot of help with things like day care and food for children. You can also just hope that your child turns out like me and is smart enough to start school a year before all the other kids. __________________ You don't know from fun.