I was networked into my first job when I turned 16 and had just recently gotten my driver’s license; a family friend was looking for someone to split a few nights at a car dealership working as a service cashier and offered it to me. Of course I was nervous and excited, I had only been a baby-sitter up until that point so this was my first real job!
So for the next few months, two nights a week after my sports practice, I would head to the dealership and work until 10 p.m., handling service payments and filing. It wasn’t a bad gig at all; I enjoyed most of the people I worked with and I was paid a few dollars more than minimum wage, plus I was able to read or work on homework between customers…it was pretty great for a high school student!
About five months later, one of my friends started working as a hostess in a restaurant and offered to put a good word in for me if I applied. At that point, I was LOVING being able to pay for things on my own and not ask my parents for money, and since my weekends were pretty open, I thought, why not! So a few weeks and interviews later, I became a newly-trained hostess ready to take on this new job.
The rest of my sophomore, junior, and senior years, I would get up, go to school, have sports practice, and then head to work at one of the two jobs. My Friday and Saturday nights were spent at the restaurant typically until one in the morning or maybe even later. Time off from the dealership was only an option if I was able to switch with the other cashier but since it was during the week, I never really had issues. The restaurant though, was more difficult.
I prided myself on my work ethic and was rewarded with tips from servers…Friday/Saturday nights would usually end up with me bringing in $50 cash. It also meant that my managers always wanted me to work those nights – and every other night I was available. I was okay with it, but sometimes I found myself needing a night off for a school dance or something else and often would be asked to forgo the event to work instead.
Obviously, I just had to say no, but back then, that was a really hard word for me. I didn’t want to disappoint or upset anyone so even if I said “no”, it was fairly easy to guilt-trip me. When I did say no and stick to my guns, I would walk away feeling guilty. I was a sucker. It’s okay, you can say it! It took me almost to the end of working at the restaurant to finally start standing up for myself and learn how to not feel guilty when I made a decision that was best for me and not someone else.
I actually worked at the restaurant for almost five years and at the dealership for close to seven. The last few months I worked at the restaurant though, I was miserable. When I clocked out on my last day there, I felt so exhilarated! I knew I was going to miss my coworkers, but I was extremely ready to move on.
If you read my post from last week, you know I didn’t save a dime from either job. I could have easily lived off of my tips and saved my paychecks, but instead I never really thought about the future. For a lot of you, it may have been the same or maybe you were financially savvy in your teens (and that’s awesome if you were!). I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to “wake up” and realize my mistakes with money.
I don’t regret working that much in high school, but I didn’t need to. Maybe I would have become better with my money if I hadn’t had as much of it as I did. I would have had more friend and family time for sure however I was able to walk away from both jobs not only knowing that I had worked really hard and it was okay to move on with my life, but I also was able to learn that it was okay to tell people no.
Did you work that much during high school? Were you financially-savvy even as a teenager or did you spend all of your money like me? And did you ever have a problem telling people “no”?
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In one way or another, I worked all weekends and holidays since I was 14 until I finished university. As a result of doing this, and saving my money, I was able to avoid ever need a job during the week or during university term time!
moneystepper That’s amazing! Good for you!
I started working legally when I turned 14 and worked usually a minimum of 20 hours each week. I wish I would’ve saved some of the money, but sadly I didn’t. It took me a while to learn that lesson. ;) In terms of saying “no”…still working on that one. ;)
FrugalRules Obviously it took me a while to learn too :)
And saying no can be very hard, sometimes I still lapse. Good luck with it!
I worked at Walmart and Subway during high school. As I’m sure you can imagine, both of those jobs sucked. I probably working 10-20 hours per week on top of school. Looking back, I wish I would’ve focused more on academics and less on earning money.
Holly at ClubThrifty I didn’t mind my cashiering job at all, sometimes the management wasn’t the best, but it was worth sticking with it because of the benefits (higher pay but not as much work). Working for a restaurant chain was a completely different story so I understand your pain with Walmart and Subway!
I definitely didn’t work that much. I’m guessing that your work experience helped you learn how to be good with money, even if you weren’t good back then. Those early experiences are how you learn, and it’s much better to make mistakes when you’re young without any real responsibilities.
Matt @ Mom and Dad Money So true! I’m thankful that my parents expected me to get a job and go through all of the growing pains associated with the added responsibility.
I miss my “hustle” in high school. Sad and depressing how we can become so “comfortable” in life.
While in high school, I played highly competitive basketball w/ practice/games 6 days per week. I’d work Saturday’s from 5 am until 9 pm with only true break in there being to go to basketball practice. However, I was focused and got a lot more done then than I have in the 12 years since.
It all circles back to how comfortable we are. I wasn’t comfortable so I hustled.
Time to be less comfortable. ;)
The Warrior
NetWorthWarrior.com
NetWorthWarrior Those are awful long Saturdays! And yes, definitely crazy how focused one can be. Looking back, I have no idea how I managed working all those hours, playing sports, and keeping a high GPA in school.
Good luck with finding your focus again! :)
I never worked in high school. I was one of those ridiculously overbooked children. I’d go to school, then school theatre rehearsal, then gymnastics practice, then community theatre rehearsal. I typically didn’t get started on homework till well around 10pm. I pulled many an all nighter back then. Saturdays would be full days in NYC going to Ukrainian School, Girl Scouts, and Dance and Sundays would be gymnastics meets and homework catch up for both schools. Strangely enough, I don’t think anything has ever been as difficult as those four years.
brokeandbeau Wow, that is definitely a full schedule! I understand your pain with not starting homework until late and pulling all-nighters, I had to do that many times as well.
Just out of curiosity, what did you do at Ukrainian School?
I went to a boarding school so I never worked while going to school but during holidays, my dad would pay us when we go to pick coffee the same way he paid the other workers. For us it was just a form of motivation.
BorrowedCents Sounds like a good form of motivation!
I worked a lot in high school. I was working full-time and it was definitely hard. I had to stop with sports in 11th and 12th grade because I was working so much. AH!
SenseofCents I have no idea how I managed it all. The only way I was able to do sports was because I paid for them, but I was fortunate to be able to work around their schedule with my jobs. Having to quit something you enjoy doing because you need to work more definitely is crappy :(
I started my first tax-paying job (not babysitting) when I was 16 as well. Since I was earning money my folks had me buy my own entertainment (cds, movie tickets) and school clothes. I didn’t have to pay rent or groceries or anything but I was expected to spend some of it on my own necessities. The rest I saved!
lintacious Sounds just like how it was in my family – but good for you for actually saving!
I worked quite a bit my junior and senior year of high school, both at pizza places. I think it really taught me a lot (I wrote a fairly popular post a while back about the ten things I learned from working at Pizza Hut) and I’m glad I had those experiences.
DC @ Young Adult Money I love that post David!
Good for you for managing 2 jobs while going to school. The experience that you gain from that is extremely valuable, as I’m sure you know. I worked a lot during my high school and college years. At that time I rarely spent my money, except to buy a new car after graduation. But I know what you mean about when you have a lot of money coming in and you do not really think about the future. That happened to me later in life when I had a high paying job, with bonuses and travel. At that point I spent it as quickly as I made it without really thinking about my future. You are very fortunate to have gone through that while you were younger, instead of later in life, like I did. I’m sure it will help you a great deal.
TacklingOurDebt A new car that you were able to pay for yourself must have made all of that hard work worth it! I did gain valuable experience balancing everything and I don’t regret having the opportunity to work both jobs. I’m hopeful that I won’t make the same mistake again in the future!
I worked 20-30 hours a week pretty consistently during high school and I blew it all on video games!
ayoungpro Hahaha, a very popular thing to spend money on! Was it worth it?
SallyBohlinger Yes and no. I enjoyed that time in my life, but now I wish I would have invested at least a small portion of that money. :)
ayoungpro SallyBohlinger Haha don’t we all wish we had invested JUST a little bit of that video game money ;)
If you turn out to be reliable, everyone wants to hire you. It worked out especially well in my small town. It is hard to say no when it means a bigger paycheck, but you certainly have to know your limits.
Eyesonthedollar I went to a very small University and completely understand that! It’s awesome when people notice your work ethic and want to reward you by offering you more jobs or opportunities, but yes, knowing your limits is key to being able to avoid burnout and be able to keep up the great work!
Ukrainian school was from 9am-1pm every Saturday from K-12. We would study Ukrainian history, literature, culture, geography, and language. All classes were taught in Ukrainian. At the end of 12 years we did three weekends worth of oral and written exams for an essentially useless certification in a rarely spoken language :)
brokeandbeau Oh my gosh, that sounds awesome to me though! Even though it’s rarely used, I’m assuming you have Ukrainian heritage so what a great way to keep in touch with it! :)
Wow, you worked a lot more than I did in high school. I did 4-H in junior high and school and made quite a bit of money selling market lambs and saved almost all of it. I owe most of the credit to my parents who taught me the value of saving money.
KyleJames1 I love 4-H! That’s awesome that your parents were able to teach you the value of saving money at such a young age and you were able to utilize it in a marketplace first-hand!
I’ve always been a saver (thanks to financial lessons from my parents), but I didn’t get a “real job” until college. However, I lived overseas and couldn’t work legal jobs as an expat. I did a lot of babysitting, pet sitting and taught summer school a few years.
BrokeMillennial Good for you! Hopefully I’m moving on the right way to being more of a saver :)
Living overseas must have been an amazing experience though – I would love to live abroad for a few years.
The only jobs I could get were during the summer. My parents were very adamant about my and my brothers not working during the school year. One was because we lived on a dairy farm and that work came first over a 2nd job. The other was their belief that we have 40+ years to work, only 4 years to do high school activities. I didn’t really have to do school and a paying job until I got to college.
MicrosMissions I come from a family of dairy farmers and there is soooo much hard work that goes into it! But I have a lot of friends who didn’t work in high school because of the second reason your parents didn’t want you to work.
Wow that’s a lot! I mostly worked summers and then my senior year I worked at a fast food place. Awful! Come to think of it though, I probably needed more structure back then so it could have done me some good.
Beachbudget Whatever brings in the money though, right?! I definitely walked away with some pretty good time management skills :)
I worked a bit during high school, but definitely not 30 hours a week! During the summers I definitely did, but not when I was working.
Money Life and More It got pretty crazy at times and looking back, I have no idea how I kept up with everything!
I only worked that much in high school during the summer. Sports and studies took up my time during the school year. Did I ever have a problem telling people “no?” Phbbbt…to this day – but I’m getting better. :)
Brian @ Luke1428 I’m still working on saying “no” too!
That is so much work in high school! I am impressed!! I think it’s definitely wise to work and save money for college while in high school. I worked the summers, but not the school year, but my hubs worked 20 hours a week at the public library and he has such a great work ethic!
BudgetBlonde Haha, thanks Cat! I only wish I had saved that money for college…lesson well learned :) :)
And I would bet your husband does have a great work ethic – so cool that he’s going to be a doctor! That takes so much time and dedication!
I worked about 15-20 hours a week during the school year at Qdoba and then every Sunday morning at a church nursery. In the summers, I’d get more daytime hours at the nursery and would make pretty good bucks. The Sunday morning thing really sucked as I could never really do things on Saturday nights late nor spend the night with friends unless my mom was willing to pick me up at the friend’s house early to get to work (as we worked together). So I totally understand the sucky weekend thing.
Tara Zee That’s a lot of work! And the weekend thing definitely stinks, when I no longer had to work weekends it was such an awesome feeling to be able to make plans with people!
That’s a lot of hours for high school. I worked during high school and college, but on a more part-time basis (full-time during breaks etc.). I’ve always been a pretty good saver (thanks mom!)
StudentDebtSurvivor That’s awesome that you were able to save your money!
I *had* to work in high school. My mom was a single parent and working at a low paying job.
I started working at 15 and saved up for my own car, paid my mom’s and my car insurance, paid for all my school stuff, bought most of my own food, and was making more out of high school than my mom and most of my family members.
I would work almost every weekend and in the summers through high school I would work full-time and sometimes 60-70 hour weeks. I worked at a retirement home so there was always something I could do. I started out making around $7.50 and worked my way up to $9.25 or $9.50 right after I graduated high school.
I worked hard and learned so much from paying my way through high school. It was hard at times, but it taught me a lot about budgeting, saving, and spending wisely. I knew I couldn’t waste my money because I had to take care of myself and my mom at times.
Hope you have a wonderful day~
stepstosave Wow, that is incredible! I really respect your willingness and thoughtfulness to work so hard to help support your family. All of that work must have been extremely challenging at times, but as you said, you learned so much from it.
Thank you for your comment and you have a wonderful day as well!
I worked during high school but no where near that much. Maybe 10 or 15 hours a week? It was part time work at a company my dad worked at and he employed a bunch of my friends too, so it was great fun.
OutlierModel That sounds like a good deal to me!