As I've mentioned several times so far in this space, I'm a big fan of playing fantasy sports with my friends. (Non sports fans, please stick with me on this for a little bit. I'm just starting with sports here before moving on, so there's no need to turn the e-page.) I participate in baseball and basketball leagues every year, as well as a March Madness bracket game that's currently kicking my ass. For baseball this season, we decided to change things up. Instead of each team taking turns to select a player, we switched to an auction format instead.
As you might imagine, that means that players go to the highest bidder. Every team starts with the same amount of money, and at the end, everyone needs to have 23 players on the roster. I was very concerned about this because budgeting my money hasn't always been my strongest suit. In fact, as a kid, it may have been one of my worst skills.
I got a job at a restaurant in a mall the day I turned 14 and was legally able to get a work permit. In hindsight, I'm very thankful that my parents put me in that position because I think it instilled a work ethic early on. At the time though, I was thankful for a different reason: spending money. I was putting most of each check away in savings, and since I was making a whopping $4.25 an hour for the first six months, that didn't leave me with too much in my wallet. Therefore, I had to spend wisely, right? Well, that didn't exactly happen. Right across the way in the mall was a Sam Goody music store. I spent my 15 minute breaks there and sometimes a lot of my half hour lunches as well. Inevitably, I would walk out with a cassette single almost every single time. I remember talking myself into buying some of them: "Yeah, that's a pretty good song I guess. Maybe the B-side's really good. It's only a few bucks, and maybe they'll become my favorite band." This happened a lot, and so I ended up spending my money while I was making it.
I didn't get much better in high school. One would think that by bringing a lunch every day, I wouldn't have the need to spend money on anything more than possibly a snack. Yet for almost all of my sophomore and junior year, I ate my lunch at "Nutrition" and then bought something for Lunch 2: The Sequel. There was a pizza cart designed to increase body fat and acne percentages on campus. A mini pizza was $2, and Dusty and I got one practically every day. I know that's not a huge expense, but it certainly added up. I should've pointed out to my mom that I was a growing teenage boy and found that I needed more food each day, but instead I spent money because I had it. Things only got worse senior year when we could leave campus, because Lunch 2: The Sequel became much more costly at places like You're the Boss. Daily $5.00 sandwiches really added up, but the money kept burning a hole in my pocket.
I eventually got better at budgeting on my own and a hell of a lot better with my wife's influence. She stops me from getting every dog toy I see for Hallie, because the bucket o' toys is already more than full. Still though, my parents think of me as someone who spends money as soon as he has it, and it's all because of one story from my youth that I can't outrun.
I was probably in the 12-14 age range when I went to Disneyland with a group of friends. It's an all-day event, so my parents gave me some money to cover lunch and dinner. Things are really expensive there too (and I'm sure they've gotten much worse since my last trip), so they gave me around $20 for the day. We got there and began walking around through the candy shop before we got to any of the rides. I bought a little bag of candy that didn't break the bank and kept moving on. Then we got to the magic shop. We all looked around, arguing over which masks were the coolest, etc. And then I saw it: the fake plaster cast. Shaped like a C, if you put it on and kept your arm against your stomach, it looked pretty real. So I bought it with almost every last cent I had.
There were two main problems with that decision. First, it was still 8:00am and I didn't have enough money for lunch and dinner. Second, I didn't think about the fact that I'd have to carry it around with me all day. It all worked out ok, as I was able to borrow money from my friends so I didn't die of starvation. Also, it got me and a friend to the front of a line because I was "injured." However, it's the quintessential example of my horrible budgeting sense as a kid, and my parents still bust it out from time to time. "That's great about your raise at work - are you gonna get another fake plaster cast?" (It's always "fake plaster cast" too, never just "fake cast" for some reason. And every time I think of it, I get "Fake Plastic Trees" by Radiohead in my song. I thought you'd like to know that.)
In any case, I was very nervous about spending all of my allotted fantasy dollars on one great player and then having to pick up horrible guys to fill out the roster. "Be patient," I kept telling myself, "let everyone else spend their money and there will still be good players available." Sure enough, I spent a good amount on one guy early on, but then I exercised the proper restraint. In the end, I actually had $1 left over even. I was as surprised as anyone. Today's lesson, gentle readers, is that people can change their tendencies over time. Especially if they keep telling themselves, "There's no reason to download that song. There's no reason to download that song. Close the application and back away."
Have a great day, and remember to email ptklein@gmail.com with things for future posts or Follow Up Fridays. The vehicle report is currently empty, and frankly, that shit ain't right.
As you might imagine, that means that players go to the highest bidder. Every team starts with the same amount of money, and at the end, everyone needs to have 23 players on the roster. I was very concerned about this because budgeting my money hasn't always been my strongest suit. In fact, as a kid, it may have been one of my worst skills.
I got a job at a restaurant in a mall the day I turned 14 and was legally able to get a work permit. In hindsight, I'm very thankful that my parents put me in that position because I think it instilled a work ethic early on. At the time though, I was thankful for a different reason: spending money. I was putting most of each check away in savings, and since I was making a whopping $4.25 an hour for the first six months, that didn't leave me with too much in my wallet. Therefore, I had to spend wisely, right? Well, that didn't exactly happen. Right across the way in the mall was a Sam Goody music store. I spent my 15 minute breaks there and sometimes a lot of my half hour lunches as well. Inevitably, I would walk out with a cassette single almost every single time. I remember talking myself into buying some of them: "Yeah, that's a pretty good song I guess. Maybe the B-side's really good. It's only a few bucks, and maybe they'll become my favorite band." This happened a lot, and so I ended up spending my money while I was making it.
I didn't get much better in high school. One would think that by bringing a lunch every day, I wouldn't have the need to spend money on anything more than possibly a snack. Yet for almost all of my sophomore and junior year, I ate my lunch at "Nutrition" and then bought something for Lunch 2: The Sequel. There was a pizza cart designed to increase body fat and acne percentages on campus. A mini pizza was $2, and Dusty and I got one practically every day. I know that's not a huge expense, but it certainly added up. I should've pointed out to my mom that I was a growing teenage boy and found that I needed more food each day, but instead I spent money because I had it. Things only got worse senior year when we could leave campus, because Lunch 2: The Sequel became much more costly at places like You're the Boss. Daily $5.00 sandwiches really added up, but the money kept burning a hole in my pocket.
I eventually got better at budgeting on my own and a hell of a lot better with my wife's influence. She stops me from getting every dog toy I see for Hallie, because the bucket o' toys is already more than full. Still though, my parents think of me as someone who spends money as soon as he has it, and it's all because of one story from my youth that I can't outrun.
I was probably in the 12-14 age range when I went to Disneyland with a group of friends. It's an all-day event, so my parents gave me some money to cover lunch and dinner. Things are really expensive there too (and I'm sure they've gotten much worse since my last trip), so they gave me around $20 for the day. We got there and began walking around through the candy shop before we got to any of the rides. I bought a little bag of candy that didn't break the bank and kept moving on. Then we got to the magic shop. We all looked around, arguing over which masks were the coolest, etc. And then I saw it: the fake plaster cast. Shaped like a C, if you put it on and kept your arm against your stomach, it looked pretty real. So I bought it with almost every last cent I had.
There were two main problems with that decision. First, it was still 8:00am and I didn't have enough money for lunch and dinner. Second, I didn't think about the fact that I'd have to carry it around with me all day. It all worked out ok, as I was able to borrow money from my friends so I didn't die of starvation. Also, it got me and a friend to the front of a line because I was "injured." However, it's the quintessential example of my horrible budgeting sense as a kid, and my parents still bust it out from time to time. "That's great about your raise at work - are you gonna get another fake plaster cast?" (It's always "fake plaster cast" too, never just "fake cast" for some reason. And every time I think of it, I get "Fake Plastic Trees" by Radiohead in my song. I thought you'd like to know that.)
In any case, I was very nervous about spending all of my allotted fantasy dollars on one great player and then having to pick up horrible guys to fill out the roster. "Be patient," I kept telling myself, "let everyone else spend their money and there will still be good players available." Sure enough, I spent a good amount on one guy early on, but then I exercised the proper restraint. In the end, I actually had $1 left over even. I was as surprised as anyone. Today's lesson, gentle readers, is that people can change their tendencies over time. Especially if they keep telling themselves, "There's no reason to download that song. There's no reason to download that song. Close the application and back away."
Have a great day, and remember to email ptklein@gmail.com with things for future posts or Follow Up Fridays. The vehicle report is currently empty, and frankly, that shit ain't right.
2 comments:
Some stories stand up to the test of time, and that one is a classic. I can still see the look on your face when you returned from Disneyland and said "Look, Mom, I broke my arm!" Remember the look on mine when you gleefully removed THE FAKE PLASTER CAST? I'm relieved to know that a leopard can indeed change his spots.
One of my first lessons with money was on a class fieldtrip to Old Towne (the e is a true necessity) Sacramento.
I went to one of those Barrel o' Candy places and selected my candy. A little piece of this. Some of that. You know.
But I was so dispirited when I found out how much a little bit of this and a little bit of that would set me back, that I spend the next twenty minutes putting it all back piece by piece.
Sigh.
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