I love money, I always have and I always will.
My love of money is not in vain or greed, but in the sense of what is can enable me to achieve.
Money does not equal happiness, but happiness equals what you do with it.
As a child, saving made sense to me. I quickly became my father’s banking protege, making sure I got them to fill out my ugly yellow dollarmites banking book each week. I was content to go without snacks or toys just so I could purchase something I truly desired… like my first digital camera, which had 4 mega pixels and 256mb of storage; a Kodak Easyshare. It is probably one of the proudest moments I have as a kid. Not necessarily because I got the camera, but because I had stayed so focused on getting something I wanted.
I’d see how proud my parents were of me when I’d save, my Dad especially. I can still envision him speaking broken Italian/English to his Italian relatives, “Yeh, Heidi’s a saver for sure”.
As a 2nd gen (half) Italian Aussie, ‘frugal’ wasn’t just a word, it is a way of life. From the ashes of war torn Italy, my Nonni made their way to Australia searching for a better life. To them, I was that ‘better life’. The fact that I had the opportunity to save money, get an education and not have to worry about food gave them so much joy. From their horrific stories I learnt to become fiercely independent and endeavoured to be the maker of my own destiny.
However, the money saving days only really started when I got my first job. I made $18.76/hour working in technology retail. As an 18yr old, I missed out on a lot of parties, events and gatherings, but funnily enough, I was happier working long hard weekends knowing that I was getting paid.
For me, 10 thousand bucks was the ultimate challenge. This is where my passion for technology and money collided. In order to reach my goal, I used to internet to teach myself bank rates, basic economics and budgeting strategies. It took a little over 1 year to achieve it. This is when I realised I was on the right track.
Now that I’m a little older, I desire more than just a digital camera…
I’m thinking closer along the lines of return flights to Europe, a bachelors degree and a place to call my own.
-Heidi
10 Thousand Bucks 