[ZTAngel]

Admittedly, I grew up in a home where we had a lot of financial stability. I grew up in a town where kids were getting a BMW or Mercedes for their 16th birthday. My friends had a new designer wardrobe at the beginning of each school year. You would think that my parents, who could afford to give me that lifestyle, would give me it so that I could keep up with my classmates. Nope.

My parents wanted me to have a concept of money and they wanted me to learn how to spend conservatively. If I wanted something (like a new bike, CD, Barbie Doll, etc.), I had to earn it. I couldn't just simply ask for it while I was at the toy store. And throwing a temper tantrum about it only got me spanking. I would help my mom clean the house or I would be nice to my sister for a day (this was very difficult) and then my parents would consider getting me the toy that I wanted. When I got older, my parents made me work. I started off babysitting and I was a camp counselor. At 16, I got a part time job and I worked through high school.

My parents did give me some money when I went to college but most of it was paid by me. Scholarships covered my tuition and my savings from jobs covered mostly everything else (sorority, entertainment, food). My parents covered rent.

It's made me very good about spending money. I can proudly say that I'm one of the few from my HS group of friends that has no credit card debt whatsoever. I never spend outside my means. I still drive the same POS car that my parents got me as a HS graduation present (I paid for some of it, too!).

I think it's important to give kids what the need...not what they want. I may have wanted a designer wardrobe but only needed a few new outfits for back-to-school. I learned that you should only get what you absolutely need and, if you have some extra cash, it's ok to splurge on a Fendi bag which I may have done the other week...oops. I learned how to spend wisely. It definitely would've been nice to get that Audi A6 for my HS graduation like I wanted (drool) but I think my parents gave me the best present of all- they taught me the value of money and a good work ethic. I wouldn't trade that in for all the Fendi bags in the world.