35 Ex-Spoiled Kids Reveal The Moment They Were Hit By The Real World

When my father died. I suddenly went into protective mode for my mother, and younger siblings. My mom had always been a SAHM and although we had an amazing support system from her family, emotionally I was not equipped for such a loss. My younger brother also switched majors, quit partying and cutting class and started a very successful business. The sense of responsibility was overwhelming.

My father lost his business and all his money while I was a sophomore in high school. Had to move from Mexico City, where my parents were the top 10% to rural South Dakota to live with my grandparents while my parents picked up their lives. Went from having everything I wanted to given to me to "if you want it, you have to earn it".

I learned a lot my last 2 years of high school. How to shovel pig s**t for one (that smell doesn't go away quickly). I learned that I'm never too good for hard manual labor. Bought my first car, had to learn how to fix it and make it road worthy. Many nights I would cry myself to sleep at night, get up the next day and push forward and toughen up along the way. Thirty years later, I'm very thankful for those lessons.

My mom got seriously ill in cancer and ended up in the ICU for five months. I had to get my s**t together real quick now that she couldn’t fix my messes anymore.

Seeing my friends and in-laws struggle to afford extracurriculars for their kids. Growing up in a high-income area, everyone I knew (myself and my siblings included) participated in activities like Girl Scouts, dance, gymnastics, soccer, softball, etc. There was never any question of affordability and uniforms and gear were always purchased brand new.

Now I see parents in my age group (early 30s) only being able to afford one, MAYBE two extracurricular activities per year. Girl Scouts, gymnastics, and clubs like the YMCA are too expensive. Dance classes for my niece were gifted as a birthday present and leotards were purchased used from thrift stores. She can't do gymnastics because it's way too expensive.

Definitely made me feel privileged and somewhat ashamed at how I took those opportunities for granted. My partner and his siblings never did anything outside of the included school activities due to their family being tight on money growing up. His siblings with kids want to give their kids more than they had, but it's so expensive.

That you had to pay your debts back and debt was a real, countable thing. I always chalked it up to this imaginary thing that wasn’t a big deal. Oh boy.

AusXan:
I used to think "I don't have any debt, I don't have a credit card, or a car, or a mortgage so I'm debt free!" Then I remembered the govt paid for my uni degrees, and that that debt was indexed at the current rate of 7.10%, meaning I may never pay it off.

I lived a cushy life in a high income area raised by a single mother. We weren’t always well off, but I was too young to remember and was treated very well despite that.

I got a girlfriend who was mixed and from the low-income area around me. My mother hated her and constantly made comments about her. I then realised, “oh, she’s racist and classists, wtf”.

Eventually, my mother hated her so much, I was kicked out of the house and was forced to move in with them. Now I live in a household with some financial issues and pay rent support them. Wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.

Dad worked in upper management for ExxonMobil. We had a very privileged up bringing. Private international education, trust funds (which i blew threw in two years after high school), if we flew we always travelled first class business, big house, cleaners and maids...you get the picture.

Long story short I was cut off by the time I was 20. I wasn't attending university or college and working some dead-end job with zero prospects. Decided to live internationally, met a woman, married her and she pushed me to find a career. Now we own a house on 3 acres of land in the country side next to a lake in Nova Scotia. And I work a blue collar job in an industrial factory. I love our life and wouldn't trade it for anything.

I love my father and he taught us a valuable lesson. Privilege is earned, not given. Work hard, live hard, love hard.

Moving away from Seattle for the first time. I grew up feeling embarrassed because we lived in a "modest" house ($2m), compared to the >$10m mansions my friends lived in. At one point after a date I had them drop me off down the street and I walked home because I didn't want them to see my house. A literal $2m house. Moving out of that bubble/buying a house of my own really smacked me in the face with reality of how most people live and now looking back I can't help but laugh a little at the ridiculousness of it all.

When I discovered things like electricity and water come with monthly bills.

2Board_:
That hit me when I got to college and did off-campus apt living with some friends. I had zero understanding that I had to pay for water... You can imagine my confusion even more when I had to put in $1.25 for the washing machines every week... First thought I had was "who tf carries around loose change?" Now I have a little coin separator thingy in my car at all times and keep about $5 of loose change in it just in case!

Sometime when I was a teenager, I realized my experiences growing up was not like other kids. Some of my friends said I was rich and I honestly didn’t see it at the time. I thought my parents house was average, but it wasn’t.

Living in my own in one of the most expensive cities in the planet was a baptism by fire. You learn very quick where your dollar should go and where it shouldn’t.

Father passed away. He gave me everything I needed and wanted. Instead of an inheritance, I received all his lawsuits and debts. All of a sudden I had to grow up… It took me years.

Joining the workforce. Very first day of my first job I was like "Oh s**t, this is what everyone was complaining about."

Doesanybodylikestuff:
Omg I know. I was flabbergasted when I got my first full paycheck & had nothing leftover paying off my car, phone, insurance, credit card & medical insurance payments. I was like wtf mom how do you guys afford groceries, 2 cars and all this big house!!!

As my daughter got older, I realized my financial illiteracy was a real hindrance in life, coupled with the fact my parents never instilled any sort of work ethic in me as a teenager. My daughter will be getting a part-time summer job when she turns 14 and will need to contribute a portion to her savings account. When she starts driving, she'll need to contribute to her insurance/gas costs.

My dad read the book “Tough Love” and took it very seriously after I had two unsuccessful attempts at different colleges. Had to move out at 19 and it was challenging to say the least. Honestly I look back and think, I wasn’t a bad kid, just didn’t know what I wanted to do. I would never do the same to my kids, even though looking back I’m able to appreciate it as it made me stronger. (And earned my bachelors at 25) My brother and sister both stayed pretty sheltered and it still drives me nuts sometimes and we are in our 50s now!

I did not grow up rich, but I was decidedly middle class. My wife grew up poor.

I remember a blowup once when I mentioned that I had randomly bought lunch for myself when I was out for a personal errand. My wife was *in tears* when I got home, asking how I could have spent that money randomly without checking in first with the family budget.

That was my first reality check, that even a middle-class lifestyle could be unobtainably rich for so many people.

Now, a couple of decades and one oil-company inheritance later, my wife and I make absolutely sure we don't live beyond the means of our younger selves.