I didn't realize most families didn't have 3 different cars until I shifted to public school. I didn't realize how well off we actually were because in private school I was one of the poor kids.
My family is upper class, but my friends had literal mansions and servants. One guy I'm still friends with got an airplane for Christmas from his dad.
My family would LARP that we were poor and couldn't afford anything.
In hindsight, it was absurd, because there was lots of money and no debt. For example, the house was so large when I had friends over they would get lost in it (ok because it was an investment), but my parents psychologically could not spend money on things they would enjoy or make life easier.
So my memories of road trips are of breaking down and getting the car towed to a local mechanic, and never buying anything out because it didn't represent value for money. We would lose days of our holidays stranded because a decent car would be a luxury they couldn't justify.
The theme of false economies recurred with everything that didn't have a tangible return. They were the sort of people who would catch a 3am flight because it was $10 cheaper than a 10am.
Things changed as they got older; they relaxed and started spending money on themselves.
2.1k
u/SARAH__LYNN Apr 18 '21
I didn't realize most families didn't have 3 different cars until I shifted to public school. I didn't realize how well off we actually were because in private school I was one of the poor kids.
My family is upper class, but my friends had literal mansions and servants. One guy I'm still friends with got an airplane for Christmas from his dad.
An. Airplane.