Harini Kannan Week 11 - Money = Power (in a non greedy way)
Money = Power (in an non greedy way)
There’s something different about making your own money. Not being dependent on your parents for cash. Just a disclaimer: with this blog, I am not in any way trying to bash anyone who uses their parents’ money. That’s completely normal at our age. But, I feel that having my own money has given me this mix of freedom and responsibility that I didn’t fully understand until I started working, and I want to share my thoughts.
In April 2024, I started working as an assistant at Kumon (I know, prestigious). I’m not sure why I first decided to get a job. I think I just wanted the feeling of being responsible and working. This was a strange two-week phase in sophomore year, where I desperately applied to every job I could. Of course, I got rejected by most of them. This job market is brutal! But, I got accepted for that position at Kumon, for better or worse. It’s not a difficult job in overview, but it undoubtedly gets exhausting..
I had that “first job excitement” for two weeks before it wore off. I wondered if it was worth taking 7 hours out of my week to work. I know 7 hours isn’t much, but it’s 7 hours that I could be doing homework and studying. However, these feelings all changed when I got my paycheck. This may make me sound horrible and greedy, but cut me some slack. It was my first paycheck. And it was $200. In hindsight, that’s not much. But I was over the moon.
Thankfully, I didn’t blow my entire paycheck at the mall (though I was very tempted). My parents opened a checking and savings account for me. As the paychecks kept coming in, I accrued (vocab!) more money into my savings, learning the art of budgeting and saving. My dad tried to convince me to invest, so I am now attempting to learn about the stock market (key word: attempting).
Now, let me be honest. I didn’t just save all my money. I spent around $1,500 of my own money in 2024 (most of it was shopping). But, for all the money I spent, I saved significantly more. That’s the point I am trying to get across. Making my own money has given me the power to spend, save, and invest in my future on my own terms. It has taught me independence in a way that nothing else has. So, I 100% recommend getting a job or starting a small business—whatever is a good way for you to make some cash, learn life skills, and empower yourself!
Image Credit: https://www.rd.com/list/money-saving-challenge/
Hey Harini, it is absolutely amazing that you are working and making your own money. I will say that I can agree that having your own responsibility is quite fulfilling. I personally have not had my own job. I do want to get one eventually, maybe this year. I used to be very interested in investing during Covid times. I would sit in my room and look at the news and trends. I made a little bit of profit and I basically moved on to not caring about it. I will say that there was a quite a bit of learning and I still do not know it all. Handling money is a complicated game and there are many elements to it. Hopefully, if I start working soon I will get some experience handling my own money.
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ReplyDeleteHi Harini,
ReplyDeleteYour story with your job was really captivating, I enjoyed reading it. It does a great job bringing up important things like responsibility and personal financial management. Having that freedom to manage your own earnt money does feel great, I opened a small clay shop back in elementary where clients would go up to me and request a clay figure, to which I would grant them their request, earning me some profit that I spent freely, perhaps a little too freely, but it made me feel happy that I could earn money myself. Although I have yet to start working, I’m actually looking forward to it whenever I do, since earning money not just for yourself but also for your family is a nice feeling too. It always feels nice to be doing something with your time voluntarily whilst earning some cash from it.
Hey Harini! I loved how you were able to start your blog, and really made me want continue reading. I've always had big dreams, especially of being a neurosurgeon and one day owning a big home. That "first job" feeling also occurred to me, when I spent last summer working at Stanford. Waking up, taking the bus, eating in the cafeteria, all seemed so fun to me. But, when you do it, over and over again, for two months straight, you start to enjoy your "kid" life, and want to wait a little longer, until you start an actual job. Using money the right way is the most important factor of life, as my parents made me put in my savings accont, helping me for the long run. Overall, loved reading your blog!
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