how did you spend your allowance?

[bobss396]

16 hours ago, ranma said:

Allowance? Well I got one when I was growing up, which didn't last long with a "Little Brother tax" . My older brother was sort of a bully to me when growing up. Also done some things /forced that shouldn't had happened. All that got swept under the "rug" by my Parents!

My older brother was not good to us siblings. I believe that only my sister talks to him. His wife is bat poop crazy.

My parents let a lot go on, he was the 1st born and the golden child.

[bobss396]

11 hours ago, Little Timmy said:

I was bucking bales of Alfalfa when I was 7 .made $5 a day .

Had my own paper route when I was 11 . The other kids would screw around and didn't take it seriously so I ended up with 4 routes I turned into One large route.

Never had an allowance. I spent my own money on the usual car Mags, model kits,  heavy metal records, and clothes.  ( I quickly learned that just because your friends bought expensive clothes doesn't mean they were quality clothes. I was only "trendy" for a few months in 1977. )

 

Me and one other brothers were hustlers. He was the youngest brother and was always into something cool. We were good at finding odd jobs, even at age 8 or 10.

My dad made a crack once, about buying all his school clothes by age 16. So this is what I did, no more handouts for me.

This was the summer of 1971. I worked about a month for a pizza parlor at $1.50 an hour. 10 hour days, 7 days a week. Before that sentence, I was cutting lawns for $3 to $4 per cut.

The week before school, I'd take the bus into Babylon to Abraham & Strauss, pick up some jeans, on the way back I'd hit the army-navy store for t-shirts and the thrift store for "dead man" dress shirts. I was pretty pleased with myself.

[sidcharles]

45 minutes ago, bobss396 said:

. . . .  the thrift store for "dead man" dress shirts. I was pretty pleased with myself.

completely off topic anecdote:

when i worked in the carpenter's union 1978 or so, there was a guy whose neighbor died. the widow gave this guy her deceased husband's boots.

maybe the spirits were at play. not only did the guy wear them, but one day when we were framing the second floor, this guy walks right out of one of the door openings and drops about ten feet to the ground.

fortunately, or un, as you see fit, the fall ,nor sudden, stop seemed to faze him. he just got up, shook it off, and went about his business.

i never wanted to work around him after that, and gave him wide berth if i saw him coming.

[ranma]

3 hours ago, bobss396 said:

My older brother was not good

There was six of  us The oldest Linda (1961), Earl Jr (1963), Virginia (1965) Me (1967 Then an 8 year dry spell. Mike(1975) and lastly Patricia (1977). Earl jr was the brother that was the abusive one. Virginia passed from Cancer in 2009. Besides I was the Black sheep unwanted Child in all this.. My Family dynamics was bad for me! But then I also got the same treatment at school as well as my dad's mother! No escape from it till after high school!

[bobss396]

20 hours ago, ranma said:

There was six of  us The oldest Linda (1961), Earl Jr (1963), Virginia (1965) Me (1967 Then an 8 year dry spell. Mike(1975) and lastly Patricia (1977). Earl jr was the brother that was the abusive one. Virginia passed from Cancer in 2009. Besides I was the Black sheep unwanted Child in all this.. My Family dynamics was bad for me! But then I also got the same treatment at school as well as my dad's mother! No escape from it till after high school!

I bucked against my brother's bullying and became the black sheep of the family.

I rebelled against almost any authority in my life. I'm fortunate to have managed to stay out of real trouble. 

I moved out of the house as soon as I could at age 19, was married at 21. That was a disaster in itself. 

[sidcharles]

I H8 Earl

[1972coronet]

I was spoilt when I was a kid - spoilt by my paternal grandparents ! They were financially well-off ( made all of their income honestly ; my grandfather had a construction business, tile making business, and other ventures , dating to the late 'teens ) , whereas my parents were financially poor ; they were middle class. 

But, I digress...

I'd perform chores around our home, which was typically yard work. Then I'd be dropped off at my grandparents' home, where I'd perform minor chores (cleaning windows, vacuuming, some weed pulling), and my grandfather would "palm" me anywhere from $10 to a crisp $50 ! That was quite a lot in '75 - '80 ! 

Later, my friend and I would push a lawnmower with a broom and rake straddled on it. We'd go door-to-door and ask for work. Did pretty well there, back in the early-mid 1980s. Biggest job paid $150.00 ! 

[RSchnell]

I didn't get so much as an allowance as I did more like a regular paycheck, except paid in cash! 

My family was heavily involved in the citrus industry here in FL (before the mass influx of transplants from other states), I not only got a share of the crop profits, but got paid for doing stuff around the house & out at the grove. Being agricultural & the owners we weren't subject to child labor laws so it was normal for me as a teenager to put in a 40-50 hr work week. 

When it came time to spend the money it was usually on model kits, camera gear, clothes (you make money, you buy your own clothes), etc. My mother was an accountant and taught me the value of saving money so a lot of the money I earned went into savings. That paid off when in High School everyone else was driving clapped out Hondas & Chevrolet Caprices, I had a '65 Vette(this was in 1995).

[Brudda]

Mad magazine and model cars.

 

[Dragline]

I had a 123 paper route back in the mid 70s. I spent my money on models and skateboards. I also paid for my own ticket to see KISS in 76. About 6 of us kids went and the Dad (Hoppy was his name) took us on his van. UPS was cash on delivery and that's how we got our boards. Val Surf in California out of the back of Skateboarder magazine was how we got our gear. We had choice stuff while most if not all kids were riding Sears or plastic GT boards from Child World. Comics were 15 cents and I bought X-Men, Spider-Man and Iron Man mostly. But if there were 25 cent Giants I would buy those. You got 3 or 4 comics for a dime more.

Models were 2 bucks and up and paint was 29 cents a bottle. Great days indeed.

Edited August 6 by Dragline

[bobss396]

When I was flush, car magazines were the ticket. Hot Rod, Car Craft, Popular Hot Rodding were my favorites.

Of course MAD magazine and National Lampoon as well.

[stitchdup]

1 hour ago, bobss396 said:

Of course MAD magazine and National Lampoon as well.

i didn't realise national lampoon was a magazine too. I've only seen the movies

[bobss396]

6 hours ago, stitchdup said:

i didn't realise national lampoon was a magazine too. I've only seen the movies

It was pretty funny. I'm not sure if it is still in print.

[OldTrucker]

Did not get an allowance.

At 10 started mowing lawns around town pulling the lawnmower around with my Spyder Bike! Shovelled snow in the winter.

By 11 I started working for the farmers, walking beans and putting up hay.

By 13 I started working in the factory my grandma worked at nights unloading box cars and loading trucks, by hand. Even was occasionally put to work on the knife cutting foam cushions.

I was buying my own clothes, and this was how I bought my guitars and drum set.

[NOBLNG]

On 8/7/2025 at 7:40 AM, stitchdup said:

i didn't realise national lampoon was a magazine too. I've only seen the movies

 

[bobss396]

17 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

 

I had some of those issues. NL got into trouble a couple of times. One was a spoof VW bug ad that said if Ted Kennedy had one, he'd be president today, since they float.

[dmthamade]

No allowance, no pay for house chores. Christmas/birthday money or money earned outside of the home. Teen years money earned from helping my dads sidework. Money spent on kits, paint, car mags....typical stuff.

Don