As a result of economic hardship, my grandmother based her entire life’s financial strategy off of frugality.
This philosophy was then passed down to me by my father who taught me the importance of making money, saving money, and budgeting via “the snack that smiles back”: Goldfish crackers.
When I was a little girl, my father would use Goldfish crackers to teach me the value of money, in preparation of me becoming an adult and handling the hardship in the real world.
He had this huge jar on the kitchen counter next to a weekly chart on the refrigerator titled “Goldfish for Chores.” Each task was assigned a certain number of Goldfish crackers which later on could be exchanged for real money.
As an adult, I’m not earning my income in Goldfish anymore, and I make significantly fewer trips to the toy store, but the concepts and principles that I was taught as a child still ring true.
“Do you want it or do you need it.” This philosophy epitomizes the idea of living within one’s means; from budgeting for everyday living costs to saving up for big expenses and shopping splurges.