9.
“My parents always toed the line of living above their means. As a child, discussions about debt, not being able to afford something essential and not having a financial cushion scared me a lot and also carried a burden of shame. As an adult, I understand that we were firmly middle class and there was never a real reason to worry — my parents were just prone to exaggerate to bring a point across.”
“They were not irresponsible with their money; there just was not a huge cushion to fall back on (which wasn’t that big of a problem since I’m from a country with a working welfare system in case of emergency). Since I only understood the keywords which suggested imminent poverty, it really fucked up my relationship with necessary expenses.
I feel existential dread whenever I have to spend a larger sum of money (for new furniture, a car, a vacation, a laptop). I have to think it over and over again and often can’t sleep when there are financial decisions to make. I know that I earn enough to afford my lifestyle and that I have a relatively huge cushion to fall back on, but my first thought is always ‘I should not be spending this amount of money.'”
—Rose, 33
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/meganeliscomb/parents-bad-money-habits
