I then went to University and my lifestyle depreciated. I learned to live like a student. Going out or buying a lunch was a luxury! I pretty much became a vegetarian (not by choice) because meat was just too expensive! I asked for things like toilet paper and groceries for Christmas!

Now that I have graduated I am still somewhat in that student mindset. I am working (supply teaching part-time) and so I do have some extra money again. I have bought a few toys and a few new items of clothing but nothing extravagent. My main goal is to pay off my OSAP. Once that is done I already have goals for the extra money.

I am slowly inflating my lifestyle, but logically and carefully. I can admit though that I am envious of those friends who travel, and have nice cars and houses. Not so envious of their debts.

When I got my first job I enjoyed buying clothes and the things I’d always wanted. I guess it was a reaction to rarely having new things growing up. However, I also started an RRSP, was never overdrawn and loathed being in debt when I had to buy a car. So some of my parents attitudes toward money did take.

I do admit that I spend too freely. I’m trying hard now to learn to delay gratification. When I went from full-time to part-time (my decision) it was very difficult to adjust to the decrease in income. No more vacations abroad every other year was the hardest part. (Some people spend their money on vehicles, I would rather travel and drive a second hand car for 15 years).

My big regret is not saving a bit more, because if I had I’d probably be able to retire now. On the other hand I have only one loan, for a car to replace my ancient one. When I work extra hours I’m making myself put the money into savings or making an extra loan payment. I’ll never be as frugal as my parents were but I’m learning to discern the difference between needs and wants better. Unfortunately the media and advertising are always trying to convince us that our wants are needs.

It’s like saying “the new undergraduates get younger every year”. I guess we just all get older every year.

I am not saying that times remain the same but stereotypes might.

It’s a dangerous thing to start recollecting the past as being better than perhaps it was. Yes, some grandparents I’m sure were frugal savers but many also would have declared bankruptcy or had poor retirements. Same as with ‘kids today’ – I’m fairly certain that a 10 year old today is the same as a 10 year old in 1975 in terms of not really understanding the value of money. In short, it seems a generational rite of passing to dismiss the next generation as not being as worthwhile, though the jury is still out (on both generations).

When I was in college for three years I remember being excited if I had a TOONIE!! Yes a toonie! Thankfully I never went hungry or without shelter but from being so strapped for so long once I graduated and landed a full-time job I did spend more than I should of. My clunker that barely got to me to college and back everyday and promptly died within a month of graduating was replaced with a brand new car at $18K. Even though I managed to pay that car off in a year and half due to a real estate investment I know that it was unwise to get something brand new and I should of looked at a good used car with more reasonable pymts.
Now that I am have been done college for more than four years I still have the same car, a house that is half empty and will remain that way until we have saved enough for furinture and a wedding and honeymoon coming up in 8 months that we have the money set aside for. To me my life and my financial situation is darn good. We have enough cash set aside for 8 months of rainy days and no consumer debt besides a st.loan that I am for very close to having paid off, BUT every now and again I feel we should have more. Most of our friends all have brand new cars whereas ours are a 2001 and 2006. They go on yearly vacations, houses on a acreage, travel trailers, snowmobiles and ride a lawn mowers! Haha. I don’t know how they do it. I know the one couple is very lucky to be mortgage free but I catch myself comparing “us” to “them” all the time and I try my best to remind myself that we are living slightly below our means and hope to retire early and thats whats important to us not the toys.

We feel ill when we use credit also. We’ve only ever had to use a LOC once for house renovations, but we paid it off in less than half a year. Had we been in Canada, we would have paid it off right away but we couldn’t do anything with our finances in Canada easily while we were in the UK.

I’m glad that I had to work during school to keep up with my life – rent, telephone, internet, food, a little to have a life with. I worked my butt off during my 5 years at post secondary. I’m now working full-time and finishing that degree part-time. (Went to uni and college, have a diploma and want to finish that degree). it was quite the balancing act during school to keep up with all of my costs, and to know I had to return home each summer and back to that summer job I lucked out getting. I knew what I had to put away to keep myself going for 9 months, what I would need when I went back to school (approx.) and how much my rent costs would be with the telephone bills and internet.

I know too many others who got into trouble because they weren’t paying attention and who got into more trouble when they got their first real jobs because of it.

I also agree with Brenda that the children of today – and for the most part all of us, need to be taught about money early, both in school and by our parents. Everything is rosy when you are little – adulthood looks easy, is often glamourized and because the wish of every child. Finances need to become part of the cirriculum across the board, taught as a unit in every grade and become a mandatory course in high school.

Note: Just to show what kids think about money, I was in our public school today volunteering to count the pizza money. I had the money on the table in piles, and two 5th grade students saw me and asked what I was doing. They saw the money and said, “Wow! How much is there?” I told them around $750. Their response? “Oh my – I’d be rich – I would buy a house with that!!!”

So, that just goes to show that for 10/11 year olds, they have no concept as to what things cost – $750 won’t get you far these days. Just wish their parents would explain it to them before too much longer!