My father died beside trees on iron rails... He had 77 dollars on him at the time, and we used the money for Thai takeout because, as my friend Julie says about times like this, 'You still have to eat.'
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
One summer vacation, I carried water to the town market to sell it, and I used some of the money I made to help a neighbour.
Money was invented for a reason. We've seen people try to use beans, etc. and it doesn't work.
I blew about pounds 70,000 on stupid things - a very expensive car which got written off, and nightclubs. I'd always pick up the bill. It's very easy to spend a lot of money in a short space of time, going out.
I was always a kid trying to make a buck. I borrowed a dollar from my dad, went to the penny candy store, bought a dollar's worth of candy, set up my booth, and sold candy for five cents apiece. Ate half my inventory, made $2.50, gave my dad back his dollar.
My father worked for the railroad, and whenever a train crashed, we would go as a family and steal food from the boxcars. One year we stole a case of butterscotch pudding that was for export to Israel. It took us years to get through.
I remember when my father passed away, we drove the funeral procession past the bank so he could say one last goodbye. That's how much the bank meant to my father.
I used to keep a coin jar and would cash it in when I was pinched a little, back-in-the-day. I would always be shocked when the amount totaled $200 to $300.
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.
After my father died, we were pretty much wiped out financially as a family, so I decided to give finance a try.
I traveled with my mother, Lela, and there was never enough money. I always had to roll down my silk stockings and carry a doll when we bought train tickets so I could go half-fare. If we had $3, we always figured how to tip for the trunks and still eat.