I learnt to budget the hard way . . . at Christmas

Istill remember my first lesson in budgeting. I was probably about 5 years old and we were living in Tatuanui, a farming district outside Morrinsville.

Friday nights were a big deal because we would head into town for late-night shopping. This night was special because we were Christmas shopping and for the first time I had money to buy presents.

Dad had given each of us kids $2 to buy presents for the rest of the family. Our first stop was the Morrinsville chemist shop and I immediately spotted a gift set of soap, body lotion and perfume that I desperately wanted to buy my mum.

I still remember clutching it close as I took it to the counter to hand over my $2. And I remember the horror when I was handed back 1c in change. I’d blown all my Christmas money on a present for Mum and had nothing left for my sister and brother, or Dad.

I cried all the way to the car. I would like to say I learnt a lot from that harsh lesson but, sadly, too many of my teenage and adult years were spent repeating the same financial mistakes.

As I’ve got older, I’ve got better about blowing my money on things like expensive designer clothes. But I’m still far too loose with my day-to-day spending – like the trip to the supermarket, where I always seem to buy 10 things instead of the single item I went in for.

I’m thankful that at least I didn’t grow up in a time of easy credit and online shopping. The pressures on young people to spend, including wearing the right ‘‘labels’’, are huge.

So it’s frightening to learn that one in three secondary school students frequently or sometimes use credit cards, as revealed in our special series on financial literacy on page 10.

We should be teaching kids how to be smarter with money, not how to accumulate debt.

And they’re never too young to start.

I remember the horror when I was handed back 1c in change. I’d blown all my Christmas money.