MY FIRST PURCHASE | I feel that I am pretty responsible with money, and when I think back to why, I usually give my dad credit. When I was about twelve, Dad offered to help me get a stereo on a payment plan with my babysitting money. I remember him sitting me down and explaining how much I would need each month, how the interest would work, and what day of the month he expected the payment. He told me that if I messed this up, he wouldn’t help me with larger purchases anymore, and I believed him. I didn’t want to take his trust for granted. He did the same for other large purchases throughout my teenage years. He also helped me balance checkbooks and do taxes, and I am certain this was the beginning of my being financially responsible.
HOW I SPEND MY MONEY | I don’t consider myself frugal by any stretch of the imagination, but I am not a spendthrift, either. Maybe it was the payment plans my dad put me on, but I usually think a purchase through quite a bit before I buy it. I want it to be the best price and quality that I expect for the item I am getting. This will largely depend on the item, however. I have a hard time passing up a deal, so sometimes quality suffers, and this is something I would like to be more mindful of. As they say in Spanish, “Lo barato sale caro.”
HOW I FEEL ABOUT MONEY | Andrés is the saver in this relationship, and thanks to him and his planning I never feel extremely worried about our financial situation. Our apartment is paid off, our cars are paid off, we have very little credit card debt (usually just groceries and airplane tickets). Because he plans things so carefully, we can afford to go on family trips and get little extras.
HOW OFTEN I SPEND MONEY | I would like to say that I don’t spend money every day, but it wouldn’t be true. We get little treats, go out to eat (too) often, spend money on gas and groceries each week. However, our clothing and “fun” shopping basically only happens once or twice a year, when we go to the States. That is where we do a major portion of our yearly shopping. We will plan ahead and get birthday and Christmas gifts, gifts for the teachers, everyday items like tinfoil that might be cheaper than in Ecuador, and things for the house. We have to plan ahead and think about how many pairs of shoes and pants the kids will need, and basically get all their things for the upcoming year. It is fun to do that power shopping, and usually cures me for the rest of the year.
WHERE I SPEND MY MONEY | I really love shopping. Our first place to visit when we get to the States is the Mall of America or Target, and a trip or two to Ikea is a must. We scour the malls and department stores for things we think we might possibly need during the next year. A lot of our trip is spent shopping, but as the kids get older this gets harder. They are not happy spending all day in a mall.
And the two-page spread:
And the two-page spread:
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