|
|
Post by Adelard of Bath on Aug 26, 2023 16:35:11 GMT -5
I was thinking the other day about being a teenager and working your first "real" job, and getting your first actual paycheck. Admittedly they were small but didn't they seem like you were rich?
Anyways, maybe it wasn't my FIRST paycheck, but in my memory, the first real thing I bought with my own money, my first paycheck, I had my mom drive me to our local Best Buy and I went into that room where the better speakers were, and half-hour later I walked out having made my decision - 12" 3-way Pioneer floor speakers. I don't remember what they cost, it was probably just a little under $200 at the time. I took them home and hooked them up to my hand-me-down amplifier that my brother had repaired, I think it might have been a Sansui? can't recall. But I never looked back, and I never regretted their easy, effortless sound. And I was always glad I got the 3-ways instead of the cheaper 2-way speakers, having that mid driver really makes the horns shine on all the Blues Brothers I was listening to at the time.
Anyways this memory pops into my head from time to time, because while I have changed amps, I still run those big speakers as my daily drivers 30-some years later. They survived me being "that guy" in the dorms in college, they lasted a few years in storage while I lived with my sister, they've provided the dance music at a wedding, and they just keep going. My wife is not a big fan of these two giant fake-wood boxes in the living room, and expressed interest in replacing them with bookshelf models but I said no.
|
|
|
|
Post by simbasmom on Aug 26, 2023 17:53:17 GMT -5
My first paycheck was $64-and that's for working full time/ 40 hours a week @ $1.60/hour. Shows how old I am. I only worked for 3 weeks, but I saved that money for spending money on my trip to England (school trip) the rest of the summer. On that trip I remember buying a new raincoat, new sweater and skirt, a few trips to pubs and the associated beer, transportation to town and back, and a few other miscellaneous souvenirs.
|
|
|
|
Post by disney54us on Aug 26, 2023 18:45:21 GMT -5
My first, check I don’t remember how much it was. Not much as I was working p/t I was in HS. It was a clothing store and many of the HS girls worked there. I lied about my age, lol I was 14 (couldn’t wait to work and make $) working papers were 16 yrs but back then you didn’t need to bring a BC, ID etc. it was of course Minimum wage which I think was $2.35 per hour. What did I buy, clothes of course as most of us basically gave our paychecks back to the store because that’s how we spent it.
Your wife is a good wife. I would be yea no this is ruining my vision for this room haha. Yes, I think we all had those speakers faux wood trim, pound out the sound. Speaking of thinks from years ago anyone remember the Bose Wave? It had great sound but was white and had a wave shape. Was suppose to be decorative and ‘chic’ get the Bose sound without bug speakers. We had one of them actually still do. It in the garage. DH would play it when he was doing work in the garage or out back. It had to move with us and is in the garage.
|
|
|
|
Post by cpnkirk on Aug 26, 2023 21:48:16 GMT -5
I remember going into a store (don't remember the name) and telling the salesman I wanted he Bose surround sound speaker system, and he talked me down to buying a Boston Acoustics speaker system that was about $500 cheaper, but sounded so much better. I used it until my receiver died, then I loaned it to someone, but I couldn't remember who...and no one has ever fessed up. So that $1k was lost. So sad!
|
|
|
|
Post by bakerworld on Aug 27, 2023 7:50:24 GMT -5
I don't actually remember my first paycheck. I was never a big spender and since we have a walkable library my needs were satisfied. I remember driving my friends crazy. My friend harassed me into a part time job with a temp company. I lasted one assignment, which was to count the audience entering the moving theater to see Billy Jack. I remember the title, I think Bronson played the lead (?) and I acquired a boyfriend. I have no memory of the $. I think I earned more babysitting for the neighbors. Fortunately the boyfriend went away when the placement ended. LOL
The first paycheck I remember was our son's. His first job was waitstaff for a retirement home. He was 15 so he had to be driven to work. He had to work 4 weeks before he saw his first paycheck, which was $55. He asked me to drive him directly to ToysRUs where he purchased a $49.99 game, which taxed equaled his pay. I said to him, "you worked all that time and spent that check in ten minutes." He replied, 'You wouldn't buy it for me because you said it cost too much." I thought it was an incredible waste for all that effort and two months later it was marked down but, of course, it was 'old' then.
|
|
|
|
Post by Adelard of Bath on Aug 27, 2023 8:44:37 GMT -5
I remember going into a store (don't remember the name) and telling the salesman I wanted he Bose surround sound speaker system, and he talked me down to buying a Boston Acoustics speaker system As I was reading and I got this far, my brain said, "Please tell me you got the Bostons!" Turns out you did. I used to go chat with my high school buddy's dad about audio, and one day he had a pretty nice pair of Bostons (just stereo, not surround) and I remember much discussion about placement. |
|
|
|
Post by helenabear on Aug 27, 2023 8:59:29 GMT -5
I did local newspaper delivery and my first paycheck was so low even my mom suggested quitting after 2 months. I did much better babysitting. When I worked fast food I had nothing special to do sith the paycheck since I had made enough with babysitting payments. So not quite the same for me. Babysitting really was my favorite gig but all my kids grew and moved on so decided to try fast food for a while. It paid for my dinners and movies out with friends and people I dated.
|
|
|
|
Post by stellabutterman on Aug 27, 2023 9:31:37 GMT -5
Feeling a bit younger with my 2.85/hr job as a lifeguard. I remember getting my first $100+ check. My last year as a lifeguard, I bought a set of revere ware because I was getting married the year in May. Still have it 40 years later.
|
|
|
|
Post by tomandrobin on Aug 27, 2023 10:33:09 GMT -5
I worked a lot of "hussle" jobs prior to graduating High School. My younger brother and I would rake leaves, shovel snow, mow lawns, work on farms, etc. Then when we go to be around 13, we started delivering Newspapers. We took over our neighborhood route and it did well. A year later, we took over the adjacent route to make more money. By the time we graduated high school, we had combined like eight routes into one. All these jobs were cash money, no pay checks. My first "paycheck" job was working at Roy Rogers after I graduated High School. I recall making $3.55 an hour and those checks seemed so big back then. I wasn't a big spender and would always have 4 or 5 checks sitting on my dresser waiting to get cashed.
My biggest paycheck shock was 2 years later, I was working at my first engineering job. I was hired at 6.50 hr and started June 1st. At the end of the year, the company had a Christmas party at one of the bosses homes. At the party, my boss gave out bonuses for the year. I did not know that I was getting a bonus. My boss gave me my envelope, I put it in my pocket for later. I never received a bonus before and my only experience with bonuses was my dad getting a $25 check to get a Christmas turkey each year. After I left the company party, I left and met my friends at another party. Later that night, he removed the envelope from my pocket and had it laying on the table with my keys. One of my friends asked what is the envelope and I said I didn't know. I told to open it and see what it was. Next thing I heard was Holt Shit! followed by some woops woops. The check in the envelope was for $2000. That was big money back then for a 20 year old. That is when I knew I found my career.
No bills, no debt, no responsibilities....that was the life!
|
|
|
|
Post by Brian5581 on Aug 27, 2023 20:16:22 GMT -5
I remember my first bonus. Was only $500 but purchased my first Panasonic flatscreen plasma tv with it. Roughly 40 inches, served me well for over 15 years.
Current primary TV is a Samsung LED which is over double the size. Hooray for progress.
|
|
robbie
Waiting on ROFR
Long time DVC owner and renter
Posts: 37
|
Post by robbie on Aug 27, 2023 20:20:50 GMT -5
Weird look back, but i make more now in a pay period then I would have in a year at my first real job…
Good thing I only last a couple months there
|
|
|
|
Post by a1000monkeys on Aug 28, 2023 13:22:42 GMT -5
I think I had my first paper route at age 12. I was a ruthless collector and would pound on the doors at 7a on a Saturday until I got paid. My first big purchase was a ColecoVision game console. What a waste of money that was. First, I couldn't afford the game cartridges and then the thing was obsolete in about a year.
Until I had kids I never bought another game console.
|
|
|
|
Post by Adelard of Bath on Aug 28, 2023 15:08:06 GMT -5
My first big purchase was a ColecoVision game console. I have one of those! Somewhere. |
|
