When I was 16, I became a summer lifeguard and swim instructor at our city pool. I was driving the carpool to school and needed money for gas.
Did you worry about money growing up?
No. Both of my parents worked and had fairly lucrative jobs, although when I was about 12, my mother quit the corporate world and went back to teaching, which is not so lucrative. We were firmly middle-class. When they divorced, there were a lot of questions as to how things would split and what that would mean for the household and for me, but it was never a concern about having enough.
Do you worry about money now?
Sort of? It’s hard not to, living in SF with its high cost of living, but I’m very lucky to have a good, stable job and a breadth of skills that would hopefully mean that if something did happen, I wouldn’t be on my savings for too long. I worry about money more in the abstract than the particular. In my head, my non-liquid savings basically don’t exist as something that can be spent.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
Around age 23, when I graduated from my master’s program. I lived with my father at the time, which became unsustainable for a number of reasons, including the four-hour commute to my job. While I don’t get any financial support from either of my parents, I know that if anything drastic happened, I could live with one of them until I got back on my feet. I also have several friends in the area, and while their support would likely not be financial, it would be in big ways that would help me save money.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
My mother gave me $3,000 for a down payment on my car, which I’m still driving 13 years later. Both of my parents (my father in particular) have been vocal about spending what they have in their later years, so I have no expectation that money or property will come to me.
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