Wednesday, March 28, 2012

We Are Now A Two Income Family

Princess Penelope has gotten herself a JOB!

Last week while the Princess was at the beach, I passed by a building that had been under renovations for a while, and noticed that an actual restaurant was going in the building and they had a  NOW HIRING sign up. I got to work and googled the name of the restaurant, and realized that this might be a good fit for the Princess. The building is roughly 4 blocks from home, so burning up her gas going to and from would NOT be an issue. Being a sit down restaurant, they were bound to have hostess positions (the Princess is too young to waitress in a place that serves alcholic beverages). So, on Monday, the Princess went and applied.

From what she said, she was able to speak with the manager from the get-go, and while he was a bit hesitant because she wasn't 18 yet, due to some restrictions on working hours during the week, he didn't write her off immediately and asked her why she wanted a job. She explained that she would be going to college in the fall, that she comes from a single parent household, and would like to be able to ease some of my financial burden for that. Apparently that was a really good answer because he asked her to come back on Tuesday at 4:30 for an interview.

So, Monday night we discussed how to handle yourself in a job interview. Of course my number one thing was "Don't be late!" At a little after 5 yesterday afternoon, the Princess called to tell me she'd gotten her first job! She'll report for training today and tomorrow at 4 o'clock and will begin her life as an employee. I'm very excited for her!

She knows I expect her to put some of the money into savings for school. We haven't decided yet on a percentage. I want it to be enough that she can see some significant savings for college, but not so much that she can't actually enjoy having earning and having her own money for the first time. Plus I want her to be able to learn to manage it properly.

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas for a first time wage earner?

2 comments:

  1. Good for her! A first job is a big milestone.

    As for savings...I think this is going to depend on how much you are going to expect her to pay for, now that she has her own money. If you are going to continue to cover most of her expenses (including the extra special stuff), then she can save 50 or 60 percent.

    If she is now going to be paying for alot more, then maybe 25% is more appropriate.

    Dunno....my kids are only 9!

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  2. I'm thinking for now, maybe 50% --- half of that for college expenses and half of that so she has money when her two big post graduation trips come around (beach after graduation and the cruise). After that, we can revisit the issue. I'm hoping once summer hits she will be able to pick up more hours.

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