Fabulous Financials

BabyGirl just learned a really hard lesson.  One of many more to come, I’m sure.

After spending two years and thousands of dollars on Orthodontia care, she was directed by the doctor to wear her retainers (top and bottom) everyday, all day for two weeks.  After two weeks, both were to be worn during sleeping hours only but for the entire summer.  For good measure and extra protection, the ortho also gave her a night guard (bottom), which is made of a harder resin, because he knew 1) she was a night time grinder and 2) if there were any problems, he wouldn’t see her for at least two months.  If all went well, and after summer was over, she would only need to wear the night guard (bottom) during sleeping hours.

Simple instructions:

2 weeks: both retainers all day

Rest of summer: both retainers at night

Forever: night guard (bottom) at night

Simple process to follow:

Contacts out, retainer in.

Retainers out, contacts in.

She’s blind as a bat without her contacts (almost -4.00 in both eyes), so we thought this would be easy enough.  But noooooooo…

Ms. Thing goes away for the entire summer and does NOT wear her retainers, per doctor instructions.  The reason excuse?  Either “she forgot” or it was “too hard to talk” when she wore them.  After hearing this, I wanted to say “you should have tied a string on ya right finger or just be quiet all day!” but of course, I didn’t say that.  You know…being the loving, caring, and patient mom that I am. *cough*  As the summer progressed, she stopped wearing them COMPLETELY.  You think my mother made her wear them?  Nope!  Well, guess what happens when braces are removed and you don’t wear your retainers?

YOUR TEETH SHIFT!!!

As a night time grinder, her bottom teeth pushed against her top teeth.  As a result, the two top teeth - yep the ones in the very front - are pushing outward and one is turning inward.  Can you say, U-G and L-Y?  But you know what?  They aren’t MY teeth, so I don’t care.  HOWEVER - the thought of thousands of dollars gone down the drain pissed me off!!  So I made her wear both retainers again - ALL DAY, EVERYDAY.

Problem is, the retainers were made from a mold when her teeth were in perfect position.  Now it hurts and she cries.  Other than giving her a few Motrin and telling her to stop the whining, think I care?  Hmm…I’ll let you guess.  Told ya I was a loving, caring, and patient mom.  LOL!

After a week of “but maaaaa, it huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurts” I finally took her BACK to the orthodontist.  By the way, this visit required me to take time off work during the busiest season of the year.  When the ortho walked in, he said “BabyGirl, I won’t ask if you’ve worn your retainers this summer because teeth don’t lie.”  She slumped in the chair and pouted like WE did something wrong.  Hmph!  After his examination, he told us we had two options:

• Braces go back on.
• A corrective retainer.

The first option would have cost me a grip, so I chose door #2.  They had to take another mold, then send it to a lab to be “corrected” based on previous xrays and pictures.  After two weeks and MORE time off work during the busiest season of the year, we had a new retainer - this one is called a corrective something ‘nother - with a bracket (not a wire, a freakin bracket!) at the top and it is supposed to move the crooked teeth back into place within 6 weeks.  That is, IF she wears it all day, then combined with the nightguard at night.

The part that connects with the roof of her mouth is purple, her favorite color, it glows in the dark, and has Hello Kitty on the top.  WTF!!  This is what she wanted, I suppose. *shrug*

TOTAL COST: $238

And guess where the money is coming from?

BABYGIRL’S PERSONAL SAVINGS ACCOUNT!!

Now she’s mad. *scratching my head*

She said she has a savings goal of $1,000 by the end of the school year and I’m “taking advantage of her.”  HA HA HA HA  Teenagers are so self absorbed! LOL

I told her, sorry I’m not the government, I don’t do bailouts.  You got your azz in this mess, you get your azz out.  But for some reason, she didn’t find that funny.  Hmm…I wonder why.  I thought my timing was perfect and it was hilarious…to me! LOL!

I know…I’m such a loving, caring, and patient mom.

Sue me.

During one of our many conversations this weekend, BabyGirl was excited to hear that I will honor the promises I’ve made over the last 3 years.  Most important to her are 1) driver’s license, 2) dating, and 3) hanging out with friends on the weekend past dark.

I gave her a few minutes to glow in the aftermath of FINALLY being 16, then I had to burst her little bubble because freedom doesn’t go without rules.  I kindly explained that 1) she will only drive my car during daytime hours, 2) all dates must be approved by introduced to mom, and 3) weekend outings will have a curfew that varies with the company and the destination.

And last but not least…

I also had to remind her that she is now responsible for earning an income to cover all non-necessities.  I will take care of food, shelter, medical, personal toiletries, school related expenses, and other ‘important’ ish.  I will no longer buy anything that isn’t a need - i.e. name brand clothes, shoes, jewelry, dining out, cell phone, etc.  So you know what that means?  Ya girl needs to get a j-o-b!

Although she’s 16 and doesn’t need a work permit anymore, due to school activities, working hours are still limited to weekends only (unless school is not in session).  My previous rules will not change - GRADES. COME. FIRST.  She agreed and was ready to hit the ground running.  So I took her to the mall to get a few job applications.  After one hour, we met back at the car and she had 5 job applications from her most preferred retailers.  Interesting enough, they were ALL hiring.  Isn’t she lucky?  After dinner, she completed them all - 5 hard copies, 1 online - and I took her back to the mall yesterday to return them.

She already has an interview scheduled for Thursday.  Thank gawd!

With her champagne taste and beer water money, I sure hope she finds a job soon.

[the scene]

Single Ma and BabyGirl are riding in the car.

The two are returning home from a fun-filled weekend.

The entire trip is several hours long and they have approximately 1.5 more to go.

Single Ma uses the ‘togetherness’ as an opportunity to talk about…what else? Money!

[the audio picks up on the conversation]

Single Ma: Now that you have your first paycheck, you know you owe me $25 right?

BabyGirl: *with a look of fear*

For what!?!

SM: *laughing at her for being all indignant*

Because I bought you a Smart Trip card and the shoes you needed for work.

BG: But I thought you were doing that to be nice?

SM: *makes mental note to clarify any future advances as “loans”*

Oh no, no honey. You said you needed them, so I bought them for you because I knew you didn’t have any money yet. And since when have you ever known me to be nice?

BG: *laughing because she thinks SM is joking around*

But maaaaaaaa, you said you wouldn’t take me to work unless the weather is bad or it’s dark, so I have to take the bus. And none of the black shoes I had fit the dress code at work.

SM: Yes, I know that dear. I’m not saying you didn’t need those things, but they are work related. You wanted this job, so you must pay for your own work related expenses - *pause for effect* - which just so happen to include transportation and appropriate work attire.

BG: *crosses arms to pout*

Well you shouldn’t have bought them then!

SM: *gives BG the side eye in the passenger seat*

Why not? Would you have walked to work?

BG: No, but I don’t like being in debt!

SM: *thinking*

HA HA that response was worth more than $25. It was friggin’ priceless! She feels uncomfortable knowing that she owes me (or anyone) money before receiving her paycheck. In addition, she also realizes that paying it back will reduce the amount of money she thought she would have at her discretion to spend. And now she’s mad. LOL Good!

Fabulous Financial Message: It’s a horrible feeling to be in debt, and justifiably so. To have someone else calling dibs on your hard earned money before you even receive it. Whatever benefit you received as a result of using someone else’s money is probably trivial to you now. But you can’t deny that you DID, in fact, receive a benefit. So by the time you distribute what you owe to everyone who has their hands out (e.g. Visa, MasterCard, auto finance company, retail finance company, Sallie Mae, or in BabyGirl’s case - Mom), you are left with only a few measly bucks after two weeks of hard work. No fair! I’m sure many of you can relate and none of you like it, but unfortunately, that’s the rule of the debt game.

And guess what?

She’s mad, but I don’t care. I’m going to make her pay me anyway.

Yesiree, I am!

Oooh, and it might even delay her ability to do what she really had her heart set on.

*shrug* C’est La Vie

But I won’t tell her that it’s going straight into her savings account. LOL

*checks the box on lesson #1*

Dagnabit! I told those people BabyGirl could only work weekends unless school was NOT in session. And boooooy, did they take that literally. As soon as school let out for spring break, I’ll be daggone if they didn’t work my baby like a Hebrew slave! This was her schedule:

Saturday: 9am - 5pm

revised to 2pm - 7pm because she had a Delta GEMS meeting that morning

Sunday: 9:30am - 5:30pm

Monday: 8am - 4pm

Tuesday: 8am - 4pm

Wednesday: 9am - 5pm

When I saw her schedule, I had to run interference - again. If I keep it up, she is so going to get fired. LOL But I had a good reason though! Although she was off this past Thursday and Friday, they also wanted her to work 9:30a-4:30p on Saturday and 10-6p on Sunday. My gawd, this is her FIRST job people and she’s only 15!! If she didn’t have other priorities, she would have put in 40 hours by Wednesday!! I’m thinking, “do you NOT have other employees?” Geez!

I told her she was NOT available to work Thursday through Sunday because I’m snatching her up to run away. LOL Can a kid enjoy a few days of spring break? *roll my eyes* Besides, she has a few school projects that need some attention. Although she LOVES the idea of having her own money (her first paycheck was $135 by the way), some money isn’t worth earning.

[did I really say that?]

Anyhoo, I took an entire week off work to spend QT with my BabyGirl but she’s been working almost the entire time. Hmph! Forget that job! By the time this publishes, we will be enjoying the beautiful weather. I’m sure she’ll be off somewhere wreaking havoc with her cousins and I’ll be sitting on the beach with a book. Aaah, like a true Lady of Leisure.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend…and HAPPY EASTER!!

I mentioned before that BabyGirl got the job she wanted. It’s her very first job, but since she’s only 15 and involved in a ton of extra-curricular activities, I wasn’t too keen about the idea. Against my better judgment, I put my worries aside to observe how she will balance her responsibilities. So here we are, the end of the first pay period and things are going…uh…”ok” - I guess.

Side Note Reference for Fabulous Teen Financials:
C-Note: Money Skills for High School Students

Since she started in the middle of a pay period, this is how she was put on the schedule:

Tuesday: 3 hrs training (videos, lecture, reading, homework, etc. - seriously)

Wednesday: 3 hrs training

Thursday: 3 hrs training

I was NOT happy about this schedule. First job, 3 days of work, BACK-2-BACK, on school nights! Oh noooooooo!! It took everything in me to not make her quit after the first few days. Although she was getting off at 7pm, I had to have a little chat with the manager. I told her I didn’t care that training was only available on those days, but from here on out, BabyGirl is only allowed to work on weekends - that’s SATURDAY and SUNDAY for the smart alecks - unless school was not in session. Otherwise, the job goes. Hmph! All I need is a reason.

*sigh* But the problem was resolved…for now. Then she was scheduled to work:

Saturday: 6 hrs real work (first time, hands-on)

Sunday: 5 hrs real work

Now that’s more like it! Then I finally drafted a slight variation of the responsibility contract, but we need to sign it and make it visible so she can see it everyday. She needs to be reminded of her priorities: school, band, Delta GEMS, household chores, work, other - in that order exactly.

So after working 20 hours in ONE week, this Thursday (tomorrow) is her very FIRST payday.

She’s uber excited! Since we’re expecting the check to be at least $110, I know she’ll be in teenage heaven. Full effect! So I asked her “what do you plan to do with your first paycheck?” - after the mandatory 20% savings of course - and her answer astonished me.

She said “…buy more shares of McDonald’s and Disney.”

*blink blink*