Once you were a rich kid, now you’re not.

I will begin with telling the story of me. Back when I was a kid, my parents were well off. We were as people would classify us as “rich”. My dad had two jobs and my mom worked too. So three incomes and they still had time for us. Crazy eh? Anyways, when we were little, my dad spoiled us silly. He bought us whatever we wanted, pretty much toys, and computer games and Atari. You know, vintage stuff from the 80’s. So life changed however after the gulf war and we moved to North America. Life became tougher, and we were not as spoiled as before. However, we were still well off because my parents saved for all those years. So we moved to Canada, and my dad had a stable job for about 2.5 years. My older brother got free education. As in no student loans. My dad paid for his first degree, and he kept paying for him and spoiled him silly. Only boy in the family you know.

Then life changed, and my dad was off and on with work. Even spent 14 consecutive months without work! Life in Canada is pretty tough. So I grew up not expecting much. Taking student loans and working. Learning to earn my money and not depend on other people.

My mom only gave me one good advice in life. She said, “you have to learn to save money and NEVER depend on any human! Even your own brother! Everyone should look out for them selves.”

That was my life.. I learned to not expect anything anymore and work for my money. It made me feel good. No one questioned what I bought and what I did with my money, and I never asked for money ever again.

My brother however learned that things can just came to him. After he was done with his second degree he sat at home for one year. He was too lazy and just didn’t want “any” job. He was used to being spoiled. So everything, even work should come to him. Like he is used to having in the past. When you have a dad that didn’t work, a mom who didn’t either (language barrier, she doesn’t know English 100% fluently), and a lazy brother, then things became interesting. As in anger management was non existent. Once you are used to one lifestyle, then going down to zero is not very pleasant.

So that’s my family’s story.. but things changed, and we are a lot better off now than before.

So what about those kids that are spoiled all the way up to university or college? Their parents who worked their life to get to the top, earned their way and wanted their kids to have a good life? Now the kids are supposed to experience the same things, work their way and learn to earn their money and work their way up too. Right?

Wrong..

So you are 22 or 23.. Just got out of University and couldn’t really find a job. Yet, you are used to your parents spoiling you and giving you what you wanted. You had the car, the bags, the shoes, and the clothes that no average person has. All posh like and of high class. Your parents have some patience with you. They wait a few months of your laziness. Even accept the fact you got your self a nice part time job until you get a decent one to begin your life. They wait, and you are lazy. Now they are fed up. They do what you didn’t expect them to do. They take the credit cards, the allowance, and tell you, “you need to move out and learn to accept responsibility!” A shock on your face. What will you do now?

Your parents spoiled you all these years, and then giving you the boot. Are they fair? Was it a bad decision? Hell no! That’s the best way for you to get off your ass and learn how to earn your own money and see how your parents lived the early years of their life! Learn dammit! Learn to work for your self and save money!

Unfortunately, some of you probably will never learn.

So here is a true story that happened not too long ago. A person I know, a girl by the way, decided to go on a trip. Her parents are well off, but they don’t spoil her much anymore. She is in her mid 20’s and has a sort of part time job. She decides to go on a trip to another city to have fun time and has it all planned out. Her parents however think she is on a business trip or something of that nature. That’s what she told them. So she is to meet a “friend” at the airport. Stay at the friend’s place. Expecting the friend to buy her food and everything. She just had to pay for the plane ticket. She is not that close with this “friend.” But wanted an excuse to travel and have fun. Remember, this is without her parent’s knowledge. They think she is somewhere else and she works and has money for emergencies if anything happened. She does work right?

She arrives at this city’s airport and this “friend” is not there. This friend sends an SMS after she got mad that this friend is not there and tells her to go to the mall near the airport and wait. This friend is running late.

Understandable…………….. Maybe……

She had to take a cab to the mall with the little money she had. She waits, nothing. 3, 4, 5 hours passed. Nothing. No show. This friend stopped replying to her SMS and calls.

She was stuck. No money, no place to stay.

Yes no money.. didn’t I mention that before? She is always broke because she is a shopaholic who only buys expensive things and never has any savings or emergency money. Even the credit card is maxed out.

So where does she go? Back to the airport. No flight back home that day. Has to wait and if she wants to change the ticket to earlier time (next flight out), she had to pay $600 dollars. Although it only cost her ~$400 to get there and back. So what to do?

She is stuck in the airport, no place to go, wearing expensive clothes, carrying a large real Channel bag and a Gucci bag in her suitcase. She was carrying $2000 - $3000 worths of clothes and accessories and no money for a hotel or even a motel. Walking around aimlessly in the airport trying to call this “friend.” Nothing.

In the early AM hours she kept calling and nothing. Sat in the airport looking like she was lost and crying. No place to stay and sleep. She was desperate and called a guy she knows and asked him for some money for a motel. He couldn’t resist, and who knows, probably expects something in return in the future, and sent her the money direct to her bank account. She finally had a place to stay. But at what cost?

She got it all, she dressed the part, but she could not even manage a place to stay.

The funny part she didn’t know how to get her car out of the airport garage when she got back. She barely had enough for that on her credit card.

She was thinking that this friend died or something.. she even tried calling hospitals in that city.. nothing.

When she got back home, as a last resort to understand what happened, she tried to call this “friend” using a blocked private number. This friend replied, but she was too much in shock to answer back and hung up.

Funny eh?

What about those kids who are so used to the lifestyle of their parents and their childhood that they are out in the real world. They got a decent job, but are used to living the posh life. They want everything to the point that they spend more than they earn. They want this, and that, and get more loans and want to appear rich and live the life they always had. What do you think will happen to them in the next 5 - 10 years of this lifestyle?

In conclusion, you were never really rich. Your parents are. You are not. So live with it and grow up!

Random Thoughts, Ranting as usual!, Whatever!