As a teenager, I took jobs from warehouse/truck loading to fast-food. During that time, my mother took a portion of the money I earned and put it in an envelope. She told me it was to help me save for a rainy day. I made the minimum wage, which wasn’t much money in the mid-1980s.
In my senior year of high school, I found it challenging to buy the things I wanted. It took me much longer to earn enough money to buy a pair of name-brand sneakers or designer jeans. The situation kept me frustrated. I worked up the nerve to confront my mother about this.
After I explained how I felt, she went into her bedroom and brought back an envelope of cash and handed it to me. My mother told me to do what I wanted with it and that she would stop helping me save money. The next day, I went to the mall, bought new clothes, played video games at the arcade, and got a professional haircut.
I had control of my money from that moment forward. However, gaining control of my life is another story entirely.
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