Is is because I'm well into my twenties and T is still in college? Is it because I've always been a little more Do-It-Yourself and T took a briefcase to school-- in the 2nd grade?
Or is it because you still think of me as an extension of your younger, broker days? (see above data, very telling for older vs young married w/kids)
I'm writing this in regards to Janet's question about what we got for Christmas. And, perhaps a little too tellingly, the first thing that I remembered about Christmas this year is that my little brother got an envelope stuffed with cash for a school trip he's taking this year. What did I get? A toaster. A regular old, sit-on-the-counter, brown-your-bread-toaster. (It's a great toaster. But still!)
When we were kids, my brother was always wheeling and dealing, right from the start. (I wasn't kidding, he really did take his briefcase to school in the 2nd grade). By the time he was like 8 or 9, he had his own television in his own room. (I think he told my parents he needed it for educational research purposes). I'm in my late twenties now, and I still don't own a television.
But the spending data has something to do with it. I'm the oldest child. I was little, my parents didn't have a lot of dough. We shopped at Goodwill, ate a lot of stirfry (I can't stand tofu to this day) and went camping. By the time my brother was in middle/high school and I was in college, there was a lot more eating out, a little more Gap shopping, and lot more talk of private school. (Hey, it was the 90's- the good times were rolling!)
My parents have helped me tremendously, financially and otherwise. But still, you kinda get the shaft as an older child. I can't help but wonder whether I wouldn't have cashed out if I was born a bit later in the game.
Or is it because you still think of me as an extension of your younger, broker days? (see above data, very telling for older vs young married w/kids)
I'm writing this in regards to Janet's question about what we got for Christmas. And, perhaps a little too tellingly, the first thing that I remembered about Christmas this year is that my little brother got an envelope stuffed with cash for a school trip he's taking this year. What did I get? A toaster. A regular old, sit-on-the-counter, brown-your-bread-toaster. (It's a great toaster. But still!)
When we were kids, my brother was always wheeling and dealing, right from the start. (I wasn't kidding, he really did take his briefcase to school in the 2nd grade). By the time he was like 8 or 9, he had his own television in his own room. (I think he told my parents he needed it for educational research purposes). I'm in my late twenties now, and I still don't own a television.
But the spending data has something to do with it. I'm the oldest child. I was little, my parents didn't have a lot of dough. We shopped at Goodwill, ate a lot of stirfry (I can't stand tofu to this day) and went camping. By the time my brother was in middle/high school and I was in college, there was a lot more eating out, a little more Gap shopping, and lot more talk of private school. (Hey, it was the 90's- the good times were rolling!)
My parents have helped me tremendously, financially and otherwise. But still, you kinda get the shaft as an older child. I can't help but wonder whether I wouldn't have cashed out if I was born a bit later in the game.
