This is not a post I was proud to write, publish, and share with the world forever. But it’s something I wanted to document for myself and for the future.<\/p>\n
Twenty years ago today was\u00a0the first of several\u00a0times in my younger adult years that I truly experienced what it was like to be broke. While this is not an anniversary I look fondly upon, it did help me begin to learn lessons about financial responsibility that have proven invaluable.<\/p>\n
Many will read this story and roll their eyes because it is, admittedly, a #whitewhine<\/a>\u00a0or #firstworldproblem<\/a>. But it was an eye-opening experience for\u00a0a college freshman who grew up in a firmly middle-class family and whose\u00a0parents sacrificed a lot to provide their three sons with the expensive shoes, toys, and experiences that kids gravitate toward.<\/p>\n What could have caused this feeling? I was attending a swanky, private college two states away from home, had a dormitory roof over my head, and a meal plan with so much credit available that most days I struggled to spend my allotment.<\/p>\n Brace yourselves for the horror: I did not have the cash in hand (nor the credit, but we’ll get to that) to purchase Cypress Hill’s “Temples of Boom” album during its release week.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n