My dad would give me $10, which is a lot of money when you're 9, to sing at church, on tables at restaurants, at family functions, just about anywhere.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Every time I got paid, I would give my parents money. I would save some money, and I would have a little money to spend.
I used to work, part time, in a deli, in those days when your parents made you work just so you should know what work was like. And you'd make 4, 5, 6, ten dollars.
When I was younger, I liked money - the feel of it. I would sit with my dad and count his coins and be like, 'Yeah.' I'd saved £700 by the age of 10. I thought: 'What the hell am I hoarding this for?' So I bought a drum kit.
My dad died in 1980, and I found out afterwards from mum that my piano lessons, which cost £2 a week, took up nearly a third of his income.
When I was 9, my parents let me take a cab to the mall all by myself. I had hardly any money to spend, but I did have a very specific list of things I wanted to do: buy cookies and sit on the furniture at Sears.
My dad said to always do what I loved and not worry about the money or anything, because if I do what I love, then the money will come.
I'd never had money growing up, and it's never been that important to me, except maybe to take our kids on a nice vacation or something like that.
When you're a child, you take things for granted. For instance, my mum didn't have a lot of money, but I went to piano, ballet and gymnastics lessons, and tae kwon do.
I could stand in the street and sing and get enough to pay the bills. I don't need millions of dollars.
Everything in my life boils down to my mother. A tradition, which a lot of people do not know of, is that while I'd give my father the money I earned, anything that was special to me - like an award or an album - would be given to my mother.