Yes, and I am grateful that they did! My parents live frugally and prioritise saving for retirement, etc. My mom grew up pretty poor and taught my sister and me about the importance of things like grocery budgets from a young age. My parents required us to split any birthday or holiday money 50/50 between spending and savings to get in the habit of saving. We were taught that things like manicures, takeout, etc. were for special occasions, not everyday occurrences.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was as a hostess at a local country club when I was 17. I got it for spending money in college. Once I got to college, I worked on campus all four years, then started full-time as a consultant after graduation.
Did you worry about money growing up?
No, I’m extremely privileged to have grown up without that burden. My parents were older when they had me, which meant they were very financially secure by the time I was born. They both stepped back from their high-intensity corporate jobs to raise us and so we certainly were not rich on their salaries, but we always were very comfortable and were never limited in terms of extracurriculars, etc.
Do you worry about money now?
Yes, constantly. It has been hard to go from having a lucrative consulting salary to having no income at all. I’ll have to start taking on debt in my second year of law school in order to pay for tuition and living expenses, so I worry about paying that off. I’ve run the models and know it’s possible to pay off all the debt after a few years in big law, but I will be stressed until that happens. Financial security has always been my employment priority, which has led t prioritising jobs with high salaries. In the meantime, I am lucky to have plenty of savings to live on this year, and I try to remind myself that I need brain food and things that bring me joy in order to make it through law school and reap the rewards.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
My parents did contribute to part of my undergraduate expenses, but the vast majority was covered by a scholarship, RA housing, and student loans. Excepting these tuition contributions (a huge, privileged caveat), I have paid for all of my own living expenses since my sophomore year through a combination of jobs. Over the summers, I took part-time food service jobs in addition to unpaid internships to cover rent. After graduation, I was completely independent, including providing my own health insurance, etc. My parents do still pay for my cell phone bill and will treat me to dinner if they’re visiting. My parents very much believe in “pulling yourselves up by your bootstraps” and their children being financially independent. However, if I ever had a true emergency or got really stuck, my parents would be able to help me. They would also always let me move back in temporarily, but would likely be unwilling to pay rent for my apartment. I wouldn’t be comfortable taking the risk of a three-year (expensive!) graduate program without this safety net.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
I received my parents’ support with some tuition for undergrad, for which I am very grateful.
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