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The other night we had a family get-together, and as is her wont upon occasion, my mother couldn't resist being critical of my weight and my spendthrift ways. When I commented that it was very hard to save money while being the sole support for my kid-unit, she shook her head and said "Well, you know, the most your dad ever made in his life was $2200.00 and he supported 4 of us on that and still managed to save. You make more than that now." I gritted my teeth and pointed out that inflation makes a big difference. When I got home, I was still seething a bit so I went online and found an inflation calculator. The first one I found gave me this information:
What cost $2200 in 1973 would cost $9713.88 in 2005. Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2005 and 1973, they would cost you $2200 and $498.26 respectively.
The second one I found, on NASA's site, gave me a slightly different result of $2200.00 = $9116.800000000001, but that's still a HUGE difference.
I make approximately 1/3 of what my dad made at his earning peak. No wonder I am always broke, rent instead of own, cannot save, and generally feel stressed about money most of the time. :-P
What cost $2200 in 1973 would cost $9713.88 in 2005. Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2005 and 1973, they would cost you $2200 and $498.26 respectively.
The second one I found, on NASA's site, gave me a slightly different result of $2200.00 = $9116.800000000001, but that's still a HUGE difference.
I make approximately 1/3 of what my dad made at his earning peak. No wonder I am always broke, rent instead of own, cannot save, and generally feel stressed about money most of the time. :-P
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!!!
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Parents. I hope like hell I never do this kind of thing to my own kid. I keep storing up all these "don't DO that" things in my head. Gaaah.
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Except - my grandmother, despite the fact I was her special spoiled grandchild, was a whiny, manipulative woman who feigned heart palpitations if things didn't go her way.
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Repeat as necessary.
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It's nothing new - my mother is surprisingly competitive, and while she spent much of my life ragging me about my weight (hair, taste, yadda, yadda) I do think she is only comfortable when she is "better" than me at something. It's a sorry fact, and frankly by now I've had so much therapy I don't pay much attention to it emotionally. But it does still require a slapdown from me when she does it.
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Sometimes they simply have to be told.
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Of course, in my case, since I lived away from home quite a ways, ignoring her was rather easier since she had to be careful about money, and calling long distance was expensive...
{{{hugs}}}
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{hugs}
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I still remember my mother the Christmas before I was going to start applying for teaching jobs. Back then, I had long hair. It was cold and very windy outside, so my hair was kind of a mess when I entered the house. My mother took one look at me and told me I'd never get a teaching job with hair like that.
Um, Mom, I will comb it first.
*sigh*
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::Hugs you muchly::
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But, when we came to U.S., we went from a fairly well-off family to a family with nearly nothing - so I'm sure that's where it all comes from. That, plus my father was a terrific spender and my mother, by nature is a saver.
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Mothers. ::sigh::
RE: Money? Hubby and I could *never* make enough money. We could never be employed long enough. Questions like: "Are you working?" "Where's Mac (hubby) working?" "How much are you making?" always, always, always occured during phone conversations. I don't know about what she said to my sister, but work was always a major component of our conversations. And health. We could never be healthy enough.
I think it's a mother thing. Once you become one, the questions are permanently imprinted on your brain. ::laughing:: I can picture my sister now (with 2 married daughters and 1 live at home son) shaking her head and saying "I just kept my mouth shut" when I asked her why First Niece or Second Niece did something. She's trying oh-so-hard not to be our mother. ::laughing::
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It was almost amusing, in that she was sitting there telling me about how my weight will complicate things when I have my hysterectomy next month, and I said I knew that, and she says "Well, I just thought you should know" to which I replied "I DID know." Then she says "Well, I know better than to talk about weight around you or your brother."
Any my brother and I look at each other, mentally asking the same question: "So... why are you talking about weight?"
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*squeeze*
I've always said, as pathetic as it sounds, little else can make me a nervous wreck the way the constant worry about money can.
Oy veh, and your mom doesn't make it any easier.
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No wonder my parents could own a home even though they'd only finished high school. And I thought I was making a decent amount.
Christ, is my generation ever going to be anything but hand-to-mouth?
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That's one of the things I pointed out to mom.
Christ, is my generation ever going to be anything but hand-to-mouth?
I wonder that all the time. Sucks sucks sucks.
{{hugs}}
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