Carnival of Money Stories #48 – Financial Firsts Edition

Welcome to the Carnival of Money Stories which is the first carnival hosted at Buck$ome Boomer’s Journey to Retirement.  Life has lots of  firsts (other than carnivals) and  many are related to money and finance.   This is a good chance to share stories about my first monetary experiences.

Note: Just as many submissions were not included as in the carnival because they did not meet the criteria.  If it wasn’t a story about money, even secondhand, it was not included. 

First Job

[stextbox id=”info”]My first job (one where had taxes withdrawn) was in the tobacco fields of Connecticut at the age of 15.  I even wrote about in a guest post at Finance for a Freelance Life.[/stextbox]

Revanche presents Where I come from posted at A Gai Shan Life.   It’s a beautiful tribute to the grit of her grandmother.

FIRE Finance presents Retirement – 401(k) – Where Did All The Money Go? Looted! posted at FIRE Finance. This scary story is a reminder to keep on top of retirement funds. 

Jeff Rose, CFP presents Get Your Free Money: Treasure Hunting Online posted at Jeff Rose. Find out if you’re owed money following Jeff’s path.

vh presents “Check’s in the Mail”: The checks that never return posted at Funny About Money.  After reading her experience with the U.S. Post Office I don’t plan to ever mail deposits. 

FMF presents How One Reader Has Made the Most of Her Career posted at Free Money Finance.  This woman made progressive strides in her career and finances by continually pushing for raises and new opportunities.  Do you take advantage of what could be?

Mr. ToughMoneyLove presents My Life as a Volunteer Tax Preparer – Ch. 2.7 posted at Tough Money Love.  Read three interesting tax situations out of millions in the U.S.

First Car

[stextbox id=”info”]Do you remember Datsuns?  My high school graduation present from my parents was a used Datsun B100. It was such a tin can and the slightest knock would end up as a dent (which was just as easily banged out).  My only upgrade was to have an 8-track tape player installed. [/stextbox]

Abigail presents The power of complaint posted at I Pick Up Pennies.  This is a good lesson for us to speak up when service is less or more than expected.

me in millions presents 11 Ways I Save on Food posted at Me In Millions.  You gotta read these tips to find out how she spends only $100 a month on groceries.

Adam presents Debt Update: Another One Bites the Dust! posted at Money Relationship.  He eliminated one more debt and the snowball is rolling.  By the way, I love the picture in the blog header.  Check it out!

Manshu presents Car buying tips posted at OneMint. Don’t even think about buying another car until you read these tips on how to buy a car in today’s world.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Sell on Craigslist: Listed Our Honda For Sale posted at The Digerati Life.  Use these nine pointers on how to sell on Craigslist.  You can declutter and generate some money at the same time.

First College

[stextbox id=”info”]My first college experience was 150 miles away from home at a community college.  It was fun sharing an apartment with two of my high school buddies and feeling grown up.  It ended up taking me several colleges and even more years before getting my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

Where would I be now if I had started my career with a college degree?[/stextbox]

Mike @ Green Panda presents My 5 Best Financial Moves While In College posted at Green Panda Treehouse. I wish I had followed Mike’s tips.  Just think I could have finished college in 4-5 years instead of nearly 20.

Peter presents Closing My Account With Bank Of America: Low Interest And Bad Customer Service posted at Bible Money Matters.  Peter’s quest for a higher interest rate for his fully-funded emergency fund.

First Marriage

 [stextbox id=”info”]You get married thinking the first spouse will be the only one.  It didn’t work out that way for me.  I married at 22 and 10 years later was single again with two young sons.  I learned a lot and later married my soulmate that I met through Parents Without Partners.[/stextbox]

Kathleen Gage presents Surrender to Know Deep Fulfillment posted at Daily Awareness.  Read about the small thing that made a big difference in her life.

BWL presents Overcoming Difficulties & Adversity posted at Christian Personal Finances. Joseph (and his multi-colored coat) can teach us a lot about how to get past financial challenges. 

Frugal Dad presents How I Saved $2,500 By Ignoring My Inner 5 Year-Old posted at Frugal Dad.  A cautionary tale to avoid impulsive purchases.

Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents Starting a Vegetable Garden posted at Canadian Finance Blog.  Tom’s garden on a patio proves that just about anyone can have a garden. 

The Smarter Wallet presents How To Get Healthy Without Going Broke posted at The Smarter Wallet.  It’s not uncommon in my area to cross the border for medical and dental care.  This is just one idea you’ll find in the article.

First House

[stextbox id=”info”]Signing those first mortgage papers brings a lot of emotions ranging from nausea to joy.  My first home purchase was a three bedroom condo.  I’ve bought and sold several single family homes since then.  Funny that Mr. Boomer and I now own a three bedroom condo nearly 30 years later.  [/stextbox]
Money Beagle presents I’ve Been Watching Too Much Property Ladder posted at Money Beagle. This story seriously reminded me of my addiction to House Hunters but with a different twist.

J. Money presents Could You Go Homeless For A Day? posted at Budgets Are Sexy. I think I appreciate what I got enough without trying out homelessness, but an interesting story.

The Financial Blogger presents On The Roll Again… posted at The Financial Blogger. Life is too smooth for his tastes so he’s making a change.

Nicole presents Declutter Your Life: Stuff vs. Memories posted at Rainy Day Saver. Like Nicole, I can’t remember what happened to a lot of things in my past, but somehow I still have a lot to store. 

That wraps up this week’s Carnival of Money Stories. Be sure to get your submissions in for next weeks carnival being hosted by Foreigners Finances.

Tagged as: Banks, Carnival, Cars, Debt, Groceries, Health, Retirement