Money Lessons

Last Saturday morning my oldest son Max woke up mad and frustrated. Seems he had forgotten to pick up his change after buying a fast food drive-through whatever. The amount left behind was $16 – change from a twenty. In the world of college students working part time this is significant bucks.

On our way home after our morning basketball game, he went back to the restaurant where the night before he had paid a 500% premium for what ironically was called a “value” meal. I waited in the car and he walked into the place and in about three ticks on my watch he came back out without his change. “No way” said the morning cashier responding to Max’s explanation of the previous night’s transaction.

As we were pulling out of the lot I asked if he had talked to the manager and suggested that he may get a more sympathetic response. He re-parked and then hesitated and a few motionless seconds told me that it was no use; it was gone and he was ——- ed. I debated internally on whether to assist and decided to let it go. I elected instead to share a story on money and how we think about it can make a real difference in how it treats us in return.

I began by stating the obvious fact that this $16 must not have been that significant if he was willing to walk away without it. The point is that it would be nice to have it back if it were “easy” to get back but not worth it if he had to work for it. And for the record I think that’s a fair and simple way to look at things. We all determine how much we’re willing to do to get whatever we get paid in return. I told Max about a book I had read when I was his age entitled “How I Found Freedom in an Un-free World” by Harry Browne. In the book the author suggests that one should set an amount as a ceiling that they would be willing to lose and never worry about transactions that are less that the fixed figure. He suggested $100 and whenever something was less than that, even if it was inflated he simply paid the price and didn’t waste any brain cells worrying about it.

I suggested to Max that his limit might be $20 and that he already had his first test of the concept. Then I told him another story about money that was less relevant but was true and reminded me about how lucky I’ve always been with legal tender.

The summer before my first year in college, I worked at a large commercial bakery, that although was hot and crumby (pun intended), paid pretty well and I was able to save the necessary funds to pay my way into school. The day of registration I went to the bank and withdrew most of my savings, several hundred dollars in cash, and joined the thousands that were lining up for higher education. It seemed a bit disorganized and large groups were forming in front of little tables with signs that were hard to read. It was a bit intimidating and confusing plus waiting around was tiring and I didn’t know very many people. I kept moving around silently wondering if I was in the right line and place.

Then, there was a tap on my shoulder by an angel. Actually it was a real person but when they handed me my bank roll of cash asking if I had dropped it, they immediately became an angel to me. I can’t remember the person or what they looked like; I can only remember the feeling of first surprise and then gratitude. That angel vanished into the crowd and I was left with my money, my education, a second chance and a great story that taught me how to be careful about money and open to the kindness and honesty of strangers.

Years later walking down a hotel corridor in Las Vegas going back to my room about 4 in the morning I found a $100 bill. I walked into my room and exclaimed to my friend that I just found $100. He said, you know I just lost a $100 bill. I gave him the money. It only seemed fair.