Upper middle-class, I guess. Never wanted for anything within reason (I never got that pony, but I had like five cabbage-patch dolls), never had to share a room with my sister, went on lots of nice family vacations. I never really thought about money much growing up–I was taken care of, my parents never vocally worried about paying the bills, and I never heard “we can’t afford it” unless my request was outrageous (like the aforementioned pony). My friends were all in the same class or above, so I didn’t encounter need there, either.
Looking back now, I know my parents worked hard to give us that kind of life. But they had the advantage of coming from education. Out of all of my parent’s generation in our family, the minimum education level is a bachelor’s (my Mom). Otherwise, there are three PhDs and two Masters. I had no idea how unusual that was until I went to college myself and met so many people who were the first in their families to even attempt higher education. I don’t think I even realized until then that not everybody automatically went to college!
My parents tried to teach me to handle money responsibly. I always had an allowance. When I turned sixteen, they bought me a car but it was a clunker and I was responsible for insurance and maintenance. They also got me a credit card that I had to pay the bill on to help me build credit, and they paid for my college as long as I kept up my grades and held down a part-time job.
I don’t think any of it took very well–I’m not the best at money-management. Maybe because in the back of my mind I always knew my parents were there to bail me out if needed. I’m not horrible–they never *have *had to bail me out, I’ve never been close to bankruptcy or anything, but I’m not good about building savings, or budgeting realistically for monthly expenses, etc. I’ve paid more than a few late fees on credit cards in my time, and I was no stranger to overdraft fees for awhile. Thank goodness my husband is much better at those things than I am. It’s thanks to him we have good credit and some money in the bank at the end of every month.
I don’t know how much of that can be laid at the door of my upbringing, though. It might just be a basic personality thing.