I am getting a very late start since I was up late binge watching a Netflix series I started a long while ago, and just finished the last episodes. I was sort of staying up late to see my daughter who worked 1-6 a the school, had a quick dinner and clothes change, and headed to the restaurant to close. She wasn't home until after midnight. I through her single t-shirt and the same jeans she normally wears in the wash while she cleaned up since she had to be back at 8:00 this morning. She could buy a second shirt, but we usually have enough odds and ends of clothes from what we all wore in the day to make a smallish load and she doesn't want to waste the money. Frugal offspring! We also try and get clothes worn outside the hosue washed right away as well. Admittedly, I have been less frantic about this as I was a month or two ago, but still don't want them sitting around. She has her complaints about both jobs, but doesn't really complain if that makes sense, as she knows this will really help her finances if and when she can study abroad, still aiming for spring 2022. It seem a long way off, but I now will go fast.
Her issue with the school job is trying to herd cats, I mean 6 year olds through socially distanced activities. She has a group of nine, and one with ADHD that she has to be extra vigilant. Six year olds are dirty, and touchy, and missed out on a lot of classroom time where they would have learned more social interaction skills. The morning staff who works 7-1 and then they swap, is actually an education major, but still has the same challenges. Monday and Tuesday is hardest, as she thinks the kids lose any routine, but by Thursday, she feels there is more a rhythm. The food service job is just understaffed-hence her extra shift last night. At first she was going to work both jobs throughout the week, then they said it was too hard on their shift changes not aligning with my daughters availability, so they only schedule her weekends. But, then they are short staffed and sent out a guilt message for those with fewer hours to take more shifts. I guess her availability works out just fine. Other than being tired, she comes home in a good mood usually, with a story or two about a "Karen".
She likely will earn this summer alone what we estimate the additional study abroad program costs will be. She hasn't touched either her graduation gift money, or her earnings from last summer. While she only worked 4-6 hours during the school year in dining services, she spent so little money, she actually has more in her checking account, establishes with her summer earnings between her junior and senior year of high school, than she started her freshman year. this will be a help for when she likely will have to take a low or unpaid internship. She'll also work at school, and her manager said she can pick up shifts on breaks, so likely has a summer job for sure next year, while taking an internship of some sort.
My older kids were the same way, though my son spent a lot more on stuff, bikes, and skate boards, snow boarding, than my daughter. She actually worked near full time starting her senior year of high school when she would leave the college she was taking PSEO classes, come to my work, and was the afternoon to evening training support staff. She worked Saturdays too. Then, both kids worked their January term, and she was back working there in the summers. Managers liked her so much, even after I was gone, and they learned she was home briefly from grad school for two months before moving out west, she was hired for both the training and finance departments to help them out. She has to work this weekend on a special film project. At first it was all day both days, but now thinks they'll be done by 12:00 tomorrow. She offered to make us dinner tomorrow night and who was I to say no! She's an excellent cook and wants to do food on the grill. DH needs to get some propane though as I believe it is out.
I'm giving myself this morning to putter on the computer, while I have laundry going, then will do a power clean to set the house to rights. How working from home things get so untidy, I do not know but I want to start my Sunday in an orderly place. We are waiting for news on my niece, the one expecting her baby and held the shower for. She went into labor earlier this week at just 31 weeks along. It sounds like she may deliver quite early despite the medical efforts, according to her mom. I pray all goes well for her and the little man.
That's what I'm thinking on this Saturday, working, cleaning, eating, and praying. What kind of summer jobs did you have as a teen or college student? Did your money go towards basic education or living expenses or maybe you saved for something really special to you? Let's chat about summer jobs and saving.
Saturday, June 27, 2020
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Working from home means a dirtier house because you are in it all the time! I face that too (before Covid as we work from home) plus the fact it is super difficult to do laundry/clean when we are web conferencing so have to do it around that. I have an entire house clean to do this weekend too, avoiding going out in public on weekends at all. I am going to slip in a walk with my BF to a beautiful park this afternoon so best get at it!
ReplyDeleteIt got very hot here by later afternoon-I hope your afternoon walk was enjoyable. I feel like just have clutter everywhere. It is better after a day of attention.
DeleteI worked a fast food job last year of high school and Summer before college. That money went to just surviving....my family was a dumpster fire during that time. lol Worked 5 different jobs through college to pay for living expenses. My father actually honored his promise to pay my tuition(back then it was very low cost compared to now)but I was on my own for room and board. First summer between terms I moved back in with my mom and worked 10 paper routes(for a couple who did this full time that went on vacation for the Summer so they needed a sub), the other three Summers I worked Summer Stock theater where they provided housing. The 1st theater had an outside bar for pre-show and intermission and I worked there for tips to eat that Summer. The other theater(last two Summers I was a costuming intern for a small stipend, again that went to eating). Spare money? What was that??! lol I scraped by and did what I had to do financial to survive I never had spare money until I graduated and worked full time and even then it was tight.
ReplyDeleteStudy overseas was never going to happen in my life.
My family just plain had no money to help with college, though I lived at home and commuted a couple semesters, but yeah, I understand money just to survive. I sued every penny I earned in highschool for my France trip, scraped enough to pay fall tuition, then lived hand to mouth for the next 2 1/2 years, eventually putting school on slow mode to work full time, and school part time, eventually finishing when I was on family leave with my son. Even though things were cheaper, wages were low, and I just burned out working so many hours and school full time.
DeleteI worked a sitter, line cook, waitress, retail, and office clerical. Not terribly exciting jobs, but jobs. I was very fortunate that my parents had saved money for all school expenses, so my money was basically just in savings for later with some used for odds and ends (mostly clothes). TheHub and I married young while we were in school so I brought my savings account into our marriage. It helped to support us for a while.
ReplyDeleteI was so broke in college I couldn't afford to buy clothes. Luckily, I was master of the costume/wardrobe collection at school and kept the keys so I could "borrow" clothing for myself. So broke and pathetic, isn't it?
DeleteI feel like we have done well for our own kids-they wouldn't have had any debt if not for post grad school, and yes, they has spending money despite them all thinking they were broke. Clothes? The first new item of clothing I bought between a new blouse for my high school graduation pictures in 1983, was a bridesmaid dress for my sisters wedding in 1985, then my wedding dress in 1987, and then maternity jeans in 1988! I can't remember what I actually wore to my wedding rehearsal and dinner, or any of my bridal showers, but I' sure they were either from highschool or borrowed.
DeleteKudos to your daughter for working so hard and saving for her goal. I hope, the world will be back to normal by then and she can safely go abroad to study. I think home gets dirties when people live inside. We constantly come and go and drag dust around. Now that the weather is nice, the windows are open all day and more dust get in from the outside. I am deep cleaning my apartment and boy is that difficult!
ReplyDeleteShe has a mantra on her super busy days like Friday, by saying names of Spanish cities! I stirred up s much dust I really let my allergies go wild-took a Benadryl last night.
DeleteI have a different experience with part-time and summer employment. You have to understand, my father, as the son of immigrants, while he had a PhD, was not fully Americanized. In his culture, higher education was hallowed. To this end, he implemented his country's concept of "giving to the house." We were expected to work while in college, but With any jobs we had, the money was signed over to him. He, in return, paid all expenses, while in high school, college, and on breaks during college including tuition, room and board, airfare to college, books, clothes and spending money. Something, say, like a semester abroad was discussed in regards to the logistics and finances. (Only one of the six of us found an affordable program as an undergrad.) Spare money? Car? Stereo? Surely you jest. You're college students, you don't need that nonsense. Study, go for a run, go for a swim, walk to the library and get yourself a nice book. On the other hand, a summer dance workshop, writing seminar or music program was financed gladly, and was considered more important than part time employment I even spent one summer working an unpaid internship as a stringer, (most fun job ever), with my only financial contribution coming in from the odd babysitting job. That was perfectly acceptable to my father, as the internship was considered part of my education. There weren't a lot of extras--we lived in a one car, one television, heck, one full bath household, LOADED with books, paper and pens. Upon graduation from college, I had no cash in my name, but my father provided me the means to conduct my job search as well as the money to move in to my first apartment and tide me over for my first paycheck when I landed my first job. For some of my siblings, he paid off their (small) GSL's and NDSL's upon graduation if they were headed to graduate school. While they were in graduate school, he would open a joint account with them, and periodically transfer money to their accounts. (Pretty sure graduate students didn't give to the house--those were funded by fellowships and assistantships, so the siblings were considered self-supporting adults at the time.) I, however, had long since tired of this practice, and kept my finances to myself, though he did ask if I would give him my first DDA # so he could transfer $. I declined. Indeed, this practice played a role in my not heading to law school right after graduation, though my father was perfectly happy to help finance it on the terms of the house. By then, I really wanted to strike out on my own. For a while I was a embittered, particularly as an undergraduate, but that was short lived. The practice taught me how to prioritize my values, and plan my finances in accordance with those values. To this day I have a hard time with others' fiscal irresponsibility. You can have anything, but not everything. Let's hope my own kids do as well...
ReplyDeleteWe all were raised differently and raise our own kids differently. My parents would never have asked us to put any money towards the household living expenses, but by a certain age, other than the bare necessities and gifts, we were on our own for clothes, transportation, any personal items beyond staples,and earning those was the expectation or we did without. If we chose to go to college, that too was on us, but we were welcome to live at home. I think this was as much a matter of them not having money to contribute as much as not thinking a college education was their responsibility. Fully contributing labor in the house was a requirement. Working 30 hour a week in high school, and doing extra curricular activities, didn't get us out of our turns making dinner, cleaning the house, taking care of the hobby farm/horses etc. That said-I have a puzzled approach-borrowed somethings from how I was raised, DH was raised, and add our own twists as to what we expect, and probably mucked a lot of things up along the way. Now as they graduated, studying abroad, social life-not our responsibility. I did not want our kids leaving undergrad programs with debt, but also with no expectation that we finance a standard of living other than college student poor-they'd have food and a roof over their heads and tuition paid, but nothing else. I think it is hard to judge someone else's fiscal irresponsibility if we haven't lived their life. I know I probably do though.
DeleteMy jobs at the end of high school and into university were all clerical. I worked doing data entry for a bank, at a government student job centre (2 summers) and at the head office of a major grocery chain here in Canada. Some money had been put away for my tuition/residence but most of the money I earned still went to expenses like food, books etc.
ReplyDeleteYou had the coveted campus jobs! My daughter hopes to get in with the library this year and not in the dining hall, but she'll take what's available. I only know of a few people that had all their college paid for by their parents-and now, I don't know any parents that pay for things beyond tuition, room, and board.
DeleteI moved out and moved into the dorm in order to be able to get a job. There was nowhere to work so far from anything. Well, it was only three miles, but no way to get there. I babysat for a woman in bed with a new born baby and two other small children. Then, I worked at a dress shop and got a job cleaning a church while I worked at TG&Y. About this time, I met my future husband who cleaned the church for two years while I collected the check. I worked many hours and attended school, too. TG&Y was a long-term job at that point. I could make my own clothes and we put in $20 month to buy groceries and cook them ourselves in the dorm. I was poor but had more money than I had ever had in my life. If I had lived at home, Daddy would have taken all my money and provided a ride to work so I could make more money for him. He would have given me nothing. Even when I was married, I worked while I kept house and went to school. But, I was young and could handle it...lol.
ReplyDeleteI still can't get over the southern way of referring, as adults, to our dad's as daddy. It throws me every time I read it! It sounds like you made some good decisions that helped you long term and as a student.
DeleteI got my first (under-age) Saturday/holiday job when I was 15 working in a horrible little wool/bra/glove shop. As soon as I was 16 I moved onto the book store and stayed there until I had finished 4 years of college and then 10 months temporary clerical work until I got my job in Switzerland. I was lucky re college because I chose to go locally rather than go away to uni, and as we were poor it was totally paid for, all my tuition, something towards transport and towards buying books. It's odd though because out of the 5 of us only 3 of us ever got Saturday jobs - my one sister was "too good" to work her tail off like we did but she was jealous enough when we got paid. There's nowt so queer as folk is there!
ReplyDeleteI love the thought of working in a glove shop-I've never heard of a glove shop! IF my daughter w could working a book store she would think it was perfect. I could compare notes with you on jealous siblings-who only chose to see us younger kids going to college, and having a car (very old and used), but not seeing that the three of us worked out tails off at multiple jobs when not in school. They also didn't feel bad about dumping their kids at our parents for the weekend, which meant we gave them free babysitting so they could go out and spend money, to later complain that they had no money to afford babysitters.
DeleteThe down side of working in a book shop (with a 25% discount) is that you spend all your money because they were smart enough to pay us first thing in the morning!
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