i get told alot that i am spoiled. cause my parents pay for school and bought me several cars in the last few years. they pay for car insurance and some maintenance. i pay for my cell phone, the cable bill, my car radio (it is a satellite radio that i have to pay every three months) and many other necessities. it seriously adds up and i work with a tight budget.
but the same people will also tell you that i am a heck of a worker. i take my jobs so seriously. for several months, i was working 56 hours a week. why? i didnt have to. i just wanted to. quite frankly, i work three times harder than my co workers. they ended up taking me for granted by throwing so much work on me cause they knew that i would do it. it stressed me out a lot. so now i work a few hours a day at my house with my mom. it is so much easier for me to work for my parents cause there is no pressure. and i get a lot of perks!

i have a great life with an amazing house to live in and i get to have nice things.
i HATE when people say that i am lazy or ungrateful because i am fortunate. i work hard- not to prove something but because i take pride in it.

i treat other people with respect. and i treat myself with respect. as for me, because my parents and God blessed me with nice things, i appreciate myself more. and i know that i am thankful for it. by NO means, did i have an easy life. it was actually very rough. by in hindsight, i am thankful for what i had and have now.

My parents were divorced. They took turns paying my tuition, and I worked and paid for pretty much everything else.

Mrs. DeltAlum is quite a story, though. Her father owned a farm and put all four of his kids through college, including one through a Masters and another through Law school on an extremely tight budget. Quite an accomplishment. But his kids appreciated it. The day I met Mrs. DA, I hung around after a speech class and asked her if I could take her to dinner. She refused because she felt that her dad had worked so hard to make the money to pay for her schooling, including room and board, that skipping a meal in the dorm would be a waste of his money.

Thankfully, she changed her mind about the dinner.

I can't say that my parents paid for everything, and to be honest, I'm extremely proud that I can say that.

When I turned 16 years old, yes, my parents bought me my first car, however, I paid for my insurance and also got a job. When I graduated HS, my parents gave me a choice.....live on campus or get a new car (my first car was a major POS). I chose to get the car since in the long run it would take me farther, so we began car hunting. My parents put down $2000 for a down payment and from then on....I was on my own.

It was a rule in my family that the first two years of college are taken care of and then you have to pay the rest. Well I joined DG my first semester and picked up more hours at work because I had just added ANOTHER added expense to myself besides a car pymt, insurance, and cell phone. But because of DG, I began to recieve scholarships that allowed my parents to continue to pay throughout my college career because in the large spectrum of things, they paid more for my brother to go to a 2 yr tech school then they did for me to be in school for 5 years at a university.
Anyways.....my point is.....my parents didn't pay for everything but did what they could. Throughout college, I paid for all my bills (car pymt, insurance, DG dues and rent, cell, credit cards, etc) and did it with hardwork and time management. I now know the true meaning of responsibility and allowed myself to keep myself from being in debt.....

If I am considered any type of spoiled, I would say that I am spoiled because my parents did what they could for my brother and I, not for them doing everything for me. Sometimes, I think people take their parents for granted. Yes if they are willing to do something for you, let them. But it shouldn't be an expectation.

No sugar plantation but I plan to buy back one of the farms my family owned when I was younger.

My friend did actually get one of his family sugar plantations in South America. I would live a good life with my own sugar plantation.

-Rudey
--I have no clue whatsoever what I would do with a sugar plantation now that I think about it.

I guess I'm spoiled... i dunno.. I've never had it any other way.

I'm an only child, never done dishes or laundry or chores.. I get allowance for cleaning my room still... they bought my cars, pay gas, food, etc...

I just took over cellphone payments and I'll be paying for everything except: tuition, housing (1st year only), books, insurance, car payments...

I don't get money whenever I want it unless its for food or somethin', and I've had a job and saved for what I've wanted all of my life...

I'm very grateful I've had it so easy, though I think life in the near future would probably be much easier if I had learned the many values to be learned from not being spoiled...

Nope.

Had a job since I was 16, and paid for everything that I needed. It pisses my mom off that I don't ask for money (which I won't). I try not to get loans for school, but grants pay for the majority. I guess you can say, I spoil myself.


But I lie, my granny does spoil me at times....

You can count me as one of the spoiled I guess :rolleyes:

Parents gave me a family car at 16 then a brand new one for 18th Birthday and HS graduation, paid for private school tuition, then college tuition (plus I got loans to cover what they couldn't) also paid for all sorority stuff, rent, utilities, cell, gas, insurance, they gave me some of their credit cards - never had one independent of them until I graduated college...Then they paid for my wedding. After that I was on my own. I did have jobs starting at 16 to pay for extras. I didn't get an allowance my parents thought it was better to give me money based on what I was doing (ie movies here's $10-20). From my aspect this was better, I definitely had more spending money:D

Thing is I don't feel spoiled. I feel lucky, blessed, loved... My parents struggled to provide for me what they thought I needed and I don't think any of us regret the decisions that they made. I can only pray that when/if I have children I will be able to do the same (minus the loans) for my children.

Yeah my folks paid for my tuition for the last two years of college and my grandpa paid for my tuition for the first two years of college and bought me a brand new car in 2000. He's paid for a lot of other things. I'm not spoiled, I'm very blessed, as someone said earlier. However, I admit that I probably won't raise my kids the same way. I'll pay for their education, and maybe for a cheap used car, but not for anything else.

They've helped me out a lot. But for the most part, I've worked since age 16. Mostly full time while in HS and college. I paid my car payment, insurance, bills, etc.. Tuition wasn't a big issue. I paid it sometimes, they paid it sometimes. I was on scholarship for orchestra, so I didn't really have to pay much for tuition.

Now, I'll probably rack up about $70K in debts in law school (or that's what I'm estimating). And I won't get much financial support from the 'rents. That's okay though. Technically, I do get support because I work at my father's law practice. I'm learning a great deal and have been able to automate my position so much that if I had been a regular employee I'd have been cut back to part time.

My younger brothers on the other hand do not pay for their cars, tuition, insurance or anything like that and they never have. One of them hasn't had a single job since he started college and has amassed about a $3500 credit card bill on liquor and beer. The other is pretty responsible, and during the school year, he works as a substitute teacher -- no debts that I know of except for his recently purchased engagement ring.

Asian families (at least those in Canada) tend to finance at least part of their education, and entirely if they could. Because a university education is so important, especially to immigrant families (education is often the only way out of working in "small business", which is what many are doing right now). The parents would pay for school (and perhaps books as well. Room and board might not be included if there is a choice to go to school in town), even if Mom and Dad aren't owners of small laundromats or variety stores ("you don't want people to think we can't pay for school, do you?") so the money kids make in their part-time jobs can be for themselves. Luckily, tuition in Canada is way cheaper than in the US, despite us complaining that it is getting too high. Personally, I think it's important for parents to start planning their kids' education the minute they're born, so that they could have at least part of their tuition set by the time they graduate high school.

I feel pretty normal in this crowd. I was blessed to graduate from college debt free, always have a safety net in worst case scenario but have also worked steadily since the week I turned 16. They bought me cars but they tended to be used Japanese cars that were reliable but pretty basic transportation.

I'd also like to add that not everyone who spoils their kids are that wealthy and not all wealthy people spoil their kids. Some people are just a lot more frugal than others. My parents have gotten where they are today by saving, investing, living below their means and working their asses off. That afforded them the ability to help my brother and I a great deal. However, we've also had an excellent financial model to learn from over the years and a decent understanding of the value of money. In the end it's not about how much they gave you but what they taught you in the process.

My parents gave me my first car. It had been my mom's and it was paid off, so they gave it to me. They also paid for my college tuition. I paid for everything else.

I think that what my parents did is fine, and I plan to do the same for my kids someday. And as for me paying for my own gas and insurance and stuff... well that required me to get a part-time job. And that's a good thing, because you need to have some kind of work experience. I did have lots of friends in college who didn't work, and whose parents paid for everything. If they needed money, they'd call their parents and ask them to deposit money in their account. I personally don't agree with this because it doesn't teach any responsibility. When you have a job during school though, it gives you something to put on your resume, it can teach you how to budget, and it teaches you responsibility. It can really hurt you if you don't have those things when you venture out into the real world.

I have my dad's old car (and I love it...it will be mine until it no longer runs), I just graduated from undergrad debt free, and I dont have to worry about my expenses. I am working, I am very lucky to have a dad who works so hard to keep my mom, myself and my brother comfortable...and I take nothing for granted...especially since I almost lost my father a year and a half ago. I will have to assume a lot of financial responsibility for grad school and I'm prepared for that...I just hope that some day I can give something back to my parents for all they've done for me (I would LOVE to buy them a townhouse in D.C. or something...they miss living in their hometown).
-Maggie

"Townhouses in D.C." are expensive. I don't think you'll be able to make that dream happen but good luck in your future endeavors!

-Rudey