My relationship with money is not what it should be. I live a life without much to worry about. I don’t have my own money, I don’t get allowance, and have my parents pay for everything I do. Although it may seem like a good thing, it makes me think a lot. What will I do when I am older and have to deal with money on my own? Are my parents teaching me how to be aware of how I am spending my [or their] money? As a teenager, going out on the weekends with my friends is a common occurrence, and every time; my parents have to give me money. To sum it all up, my parents are basically my personal ATM machines. I feel as though I should have more responsibility by dealing with money. In the near future, I plan getting a job, babysitting, working at a local store, or anything of the sort. I’d like to see how I would deal with my own money. This would allow me to learn how to spend my money wisely and buy things for myself, rather than someone else buying them for me. Maybe it would give me a sense of pride in myself; knowing that I spent my money on something I can have.
Being a teenager, many of my friends have different money situations. Some of them work jobs at stores locally, some babysit for money, some get allowance, and some are given money by their parents. My life is very confusing with money. My divorced parents have very different budgets and ways to spend their money. One weekend can cost my dad a lot of money; one weekend with my mom most likely will cost less. I feel very fortunate to have a family that can afford a lot of things that most can’t, but I think sometimes I don’t think about that. When my mom won’t buy me something that I am certain my dad would get for me, I may be obnoxious about it. As I reflect, it makes me see that I should not act that way. I should be thankful that I don’t have to work for basically everything that I am given. I should think about that next time I do not get something I want. I am not the one buying it, it’s coming out of someone else’s pockets; who also have to take care of two other daughters. In the future, I hope that I will think of this reflection and try to be more aware of all the things my parents do for me and everything that they have gotten me; even if I didn’t deserve those things at the time. I love my parents and without them, I guess I would be in a pretty sticky situation with money.