Your dad was AWESOME!!! Would that I had such a cool dad. But honestly I used to be extremely cautious with my money. I knew where every dime was spent and kept a good handle on it all. I didn't run into issue with "impulse buys" until I met my husband. But before that I owned my own car that I bought with my money from working before I even had a driver's license. I bought my own horse and paid it's stable fees, vet bills, farrier bills, bought necessary tack and baubles that I needed or felt I needed. I mean yeah I negotiated for the boarding fees with the stable owner of stable hand work in lieu of part of the payment but still...

I opened my first bank account (by my own accord and desire) when I was 8 years old and started babysitting around the neighborhood. My parents never touched my money or told me I had to save so much or could only spend so much. It was left entirely up to me. And I saved like a hamster at a buffet. Though I still spent money on toys and clothes and candy and such nonsense that little kids want. I had well over $5000 the Christmas my parents went bankrupt and it was decided it would be our last Christmas in NH. And since my parents didn't have any money to fill under the Christmas tree, I took all my savings and blew it on Christmas presents for everyone. I even managed to keep it a surprise by walking to the mall each day after school and buying a little bit, little bit, little bit, just what I could carry home. I'd wrap it all up with wrapping paper I bought and dress it up with ribbons and such then hide it away in the attic before my parents got home. It was agony waiting on Christmas eve for my parents to finish putting what they got us under the tree and go to bed so I could sneak up to the attic and pull out my own stash.

In the end my parents did better than they let on they would be able to, I found out later it was because my uncle sent them money to buy us gifts, but still it was probably the best Christmas I ever had. Just by how shocked everyone was when they came downstairs. My siblings because they were expecting maybe a couple of pairs of socks and a book or two and my parents faces because suddenly there was an explosion of gifts under the tree that they had no clue where it came from.

And still by the time April came around and we actually moved my bank account was well back in the green. I was even able to give my brother $300 to spend at south of the border for fireworks. I laugh that I don't know where my money went most of the time, but I know where it went. I know what I spent it on and knew how much I made each week and roughly how much I earned in a month even with uneven babysitting hours.

As to why I was trying to save up money from such an early age.... I was determined to buy myself a horse

But once another person and their spending habits were thrown into the mix, things got squirrelly for a bit. We've since worked it out, and are doing quite well financially but there was a time when we were eating not just ramen noodles but leftover ramen noodles. I should probably write a recipe book on the many ways one can cook and eat ramen noodles and how to use every crumb so you don't waste even a 1/10 of the 33 pennies you spent for them, and more so how to stretch them out with almost equally cheap, long lived ingredients to add variety to your diet. An onion soup made with the broth base actually isn't half bad. As for the noodles now lacking a broth packet, boil them then fry them up with a scrambled egg and if you're really feeling fancy you can toss a bit of teriyaki sauce in with it (sparingly, like a few drops cause it ain't cheap.) Not rich enough for that, fry them in the pan and then cover with a slice of American cheese... college mac n' cheese