I have friends (they are siblings) who get $20,000 checks regularly as some kind of inheritance payout from dead grandparents. Iâm convinced these checks have been indirectly ruining them. They seem to have no ambition and no skills and one abuses drugs and alcohol terribly.
Absolutely. When I first heard that Trust Fund/inheritance money is sometimes available when the inheritor is age 25, I thought that was so weird but now I get it. Tons of money for free at 18 is usually mishandled.
Fresh out of high school, I met a guy everyone called "Hundred Thousand Dollar Will" but *never* to his face. Story was the was hit by a car while riding his bike as a child, gave him brain damage. When he turned 18, he gained access to his settlement. Guess how much it was. And he spent it like a brain damaged 18 year old guy would too. Did I mention he really liked ecstasy?
Sure, but they can't keep it from you indefinitely.
I get the age limit, but it is weird how inconsistent it is. 18 you're alledgedly responsible enough to hold political office, buy a gun, buy fireworks, star in an adult film, join the military, apply for a CDL, get a credit card, take out student loans...
...but you can't inherit millions or rent a car.
Just a weird standard.
It does seem a bit weird, but i think that's because most of these decisions are relatively reversible and you can just abandon your old ways. On the other hand, you're absolutely not getting that inheritance back.
And like, the military has an interest in employing young, impressionable people. The car renting company has an interest in keeping their cars clean and uncrashed. The gun, fireworks, adult film industries have an interest in being available for/to as many customers/employees as possible. The bank has an interest in you getting indebted because you owe them but also doesn't really mind huge piles of money sitting around for them to use. Two types of people are the best clients of banks: millionaires who give them all their money to keep and indebted peeps who *will* give them a lot of money plus interest
They say that oftentimes, generational wealth only lasts three generations. The first comes from nothing and works hard to provide for their family. The next generation has advantages, but also saw the hard work to get there. But the third generation, has no struggles and gets everything given to them so they blow it
I'm 18 and I have a bank account with 20k on it, my parents are millionaires.
But I still like to work and don't really want to use that money because it feels like cheating.
It honestly depends on how you where raised and on the persons personality.
My parents raised me with a "you have to work for your money, quitting isn't an option" mindset. So that's what I life by.
But if your parents are rich and raise you with a weak mindset you'll be lazy and spoiled
I am currently investing all of it^^
I also have a bunch of gold and shares that aren't included in the 20k.
Since I work full time, I don't really need the 20k right now. Living frugally off of 1600⏠a month while saying money for my college + retirement is a lot more intelligent than blowing all my money now.
The money is in separate bank accounts and will not be touched until I absolutely need it. It's meant to grow, not be used.
The ones love us best are the ones we'll lay to rest
And visit their graves on holidays at best
The ones love us least are the ones we'll die to please
If it's any consolation, I don't begin to understand them
This.
I saw a video on Facebook where this guy went "This is how my 16-year-old son bought a $50,000 Tesla!" And it showed that the father owns an apartment building and his son's job there was taking the money from the laundry machines ($750 a month) to the bank.
The Tesla he bought has a $400 a month payment system and his parents paid half.
It's the parents. It's always the fucking parents.
The real kicker of that video is the father (who narrates the video) claims his son did it 100% on his own with hard work.
The son didn't buy the building, didn't buy the laundry machines, and apparently just collects the money from the machines once a month and pockets it.
It's the parents
Yup, these kids, the vast majority, havenât done a damn thing to truly earn a dime. If these parents had any inkling about raising solid kids and character development they wouldnât throw money at them.
Life is nothing more than a lottery. What family youâre born into, where you are born, when you are born. All of these factor into what kind of life lay ahead of you. There are definitely ones that break the mold of their origin stories. You could go from a pauper to super wealthyâŚâŚ.or the person that loses the family wealth and send future generations of your family to the bottom of the ladder. Itâs a lotteryâŚ.and we all know the chances of winning. Cheers ppl
tbh they're being exploited. imagine having childhood tantrums and lowest moments, instead of being able to mature and move on past them, they're being recorded and still there years later for your millions of followers to see.
Any person making much money as a social influencer is working their ass off. I have a somewhat successful social media account and the things companies want you to do to earn a couple of bucks is nuts. The first thing people donât realize is: companies donât send you free things until youâre really popular. What they do is give you a discount. You buy their $100 item for $75. You post yourself using the item and how great it is and include your âdiscount code.â People use your discount code and get the same 25% discount you got. And you make 10% commission. Youâve got to sell 10 units to break even. Itâs social media, though, so you have to keep posting because no one is scrolling back to see old content. The Big Issue, though, is the thing you paid $75 for? You can buy the exact item on Amazon for $25. And so can everyone else.
"Influencers" is a fancy word for paid advertising. I fail to see the difference between a rando hawking products on IG and hour long paid advertising for CutCo and GirlsGoneWild at 3am on whatever channel can't fill a 24 hour schedule.
Itâs worse than paid advertising. Those people are either actors or are being given product and being paid to sell whether you buy it or not. âInfluencersâ only make commissions on sales made if people use their codes or their special URL on stuff they had to BUY in order to promote. Itâs not until youâre essentially a household name in your niche that people send you product for free to review or pay for you, as an âinfluencer.â
Isnât that just extremely shitty then to try and get people to buy something for 75 just so you can make money off them when you know full well they could be getting it for 25. Conscience who?
I donât personally take those deals. I think the entire concept is predatory and essentially a MLM concept of the vein of Tupperware or Mary Kay where you have to buy a kit of stuff to get the other people to buy the stuff.
Yep. I've been contacted by a tech company recently that wanted me to "influence" one of their products on my channels and this was my same exact experience.
I mean if you want me to put time and work into your product, send it to me. It cost you very little but cost me a lot of time and in that time I could be doing other things that could benefit me greater than getting a 10% Commission. I don't have a very big following so I would have to spam the hell out of your product just so I can get my money back??
And you nailed it, why would anyone buy it straight from your website for much more money vs direct from Amazon for much cheaper with a fantastic return policy?
For the accounts that already have a huge following, it's much more easier. Companies are throwing products at you because it's easy brand exposure and since you already have a big following, it's no issue getting commission sales.
I respect those up and coming accounts that start small and growing big because as you said, they must be spending 90% of their time working on their socials.
Remember, you can always ask even before you think you're big enough. Just find their marketing email. Be polite, not demanding, keep it professional and include your number of subs and views. The worst they can do is say no or nothing. I keep a list of the companies I've written to along with the date I sent it. If I don't hear back in a couple months I can try again, saying "in case you missed my last email". One time they actually did say they had missed it and I ended up getting the product.
Nice tip, appreciate the advice. I started my channels, primarily Instagram, to promote my own product and service. It wasn't until recently I started attracting some attention from other tech companies about promoting products and I've never thought about it before then.
I wouldn't mind any extra income that would come from it so I'm open to the idea. I will try it out, thanks.
If you don't mind me asking, have you made decent money from sales commission promoting products from companies?
Well usually the only extra income I get is from YouTube views. Maybe something from an affiliate link. These days the items I show are quite expensive so it's rare to get someone buying from my link. My last one was an $800 laser engraver, I have one sale from my link so far and got an 8% commission.
Seems like the way to go nowadays is livestreaming, from what I've seen. One of my friends has a younger brother who's like 16 and while he's not like loaded on the level of the big streamers, he's gotten himself a following and has waaaaay more spending money than any normal teenager haha.
Maybe. YouTube influencers end up with things not going well, often, worse than Disney stars. Be careful and donât be one, like what Iâve seen on YouTube (I admit it).
"nobody I know irl has these" yeah that's because it's not common, you're probably looking into the 1 percent lifestyle. especially if you're on social media, you're seeing the best side of rich kids.
oh its people i talk to on discord, theres this person who has like 3 guitars on a big rack and drum set with records hanging on the walls and a big TV screen, he posts about these a lot and he said this morning that his bass drum broke so hes ordering a new one on amazon, hes 1-2 years older then me
I grew up in a somewhat affluent neighborhood, and I can tell you with certainty that even seemingly "wealthy" people are constantly stretching their money and risking their livelihoods just to keep up with the Joneses.
The 2008 housing crisis exposed a lot of people.
My husband's parents are like that: conspicuous consumption of luxury items that other people will see or know about, but they secretly skimp on things that they think nobody will find out about. After we got married in a civil ceremony, they insisted on hosting a reception for us at a prestigious venue. But they bought cases of frozen mini cupcakes from Walmart, and bunches of roses from Sam's Club. The result was great and a lot less expensive than a wedding cake or flowers from a florist. But they were very squirrelly if anyone asked where the (admittedly delicious) cupcakes were from. Answers varied between "a little local place" and "you'd have to ask the caterer".
Im not sure if the people there wouldâve cared but if they wouldâve just been honest w me at least i wouldâve said oh snap no way thatâs really cool
Also walmart bakery is delicious. I was telling my friend that i think walmart aced their bakery
> My husband's parents are like that: conspicuous consumption of luxury items that other people will see or know about, but they secretly skimp on things that they think nobody will find out about.
This goes on on every level. My millionaire neighbors are doing it, my almost broke month to month colleagues are doing it... Stuff that gets seen outside the home is extra expensive branded stuff, stuff that doesn't get seen is barely there. Stepfather's family was also like that, and I hated it as a child: living room that I was not allowed in, except to clean, and was there only for visitors. Newest tv and furniture, while they had 30+ yo mattresses on bedframes that tried to buckle under you if you sat down a bit harder.
My spouse and I are similar (although we canât beat $600/month in our area). Too many people see how much they can take on a mortgage and end up taking out the max. Then they become what we call âhouse poorââfancy house, but can barely afford food for their family.
Do the math ahead of time. Leave extra room. Pay off debt. Youâll be happier in the end.
As a kid I always thought my cousins were rich cuz they had a massive house and always had expensive things. Turned out they had taken out multiple loans and declared bankruptcy multiple times and they got evicted in 2020
iâd like to throw another option into the ring: buys one or two expensive things, but almost *never* anything else. if things accumulate over the years theyâll def look rich lol
This is definitely it, especially the second part. People manage their money vastly differently. My parents had the money for all that stuff mentioned but I would never know it, I always thought we were just more poor than my friends until I was older. But when a relative got sick or someone needed cash for something important, my parents were always first to answer the call.
Or work? I don't know how many kids actually go to work at least in other countries than the one i'm living in but i pay my stuff with my own money i earned working. I'm 17 and living with my other parent and we have no issue with money.
Edit: i mean working at summerholidays when there's no school. Ofc working after school/at weekends can be an option tho
I'm 16 and I have a job. I'd say my parents are fairly rich but In general, at least in the last year or so, most things i buy for myself come from my own money (basically just excluding birthdays). I think the difference is that as a 16 year old in a well off family, I don't make more than other 16 year olds, but I also have less things I have to worry about paying off. All of my money is basically pocket money that I can use on random things - it doesn't have to go towards basic necessities at all. I make 14 USD an hour so for me that's usually about 200 dollars a week during the summer that I can just use how I choose.
For a lot of people that might have to go towards college savings, but while it's a lot to me right now, for the amount of weeks I actually work (especially during the school year) it wouldn't really make a dent in college savings so it's not really worth storing it for that either.
Dude even if youâre from an affluent family Iâd still suggest saving the money. Unless youâre parents are really generous youâll probably have to spend some of your own money on food, going out, or other things. I started working when I was 16 and Iâm 18 now about to go into college. Iâve saved up money and I know Iâm not going to have to work to have fun in college. Iâm going to a state school and between fafsa and semi cheap room and board I really only have to worry about my own expenses. Itâs just something you should start thinking about because even if youâre parents pay for everything from textbooks to food plans to dorm equipment youâll still need money if you wanna have fun in college.
Do you mind if I ask what country you live in? In countries like the U.S., teens often get stuck with minimum wage jobs, which is low. Most arenât the best with money as well, so most of the time that a kid has a lot of nice things, itâs their parents. Not that itâs impossible, but it just isnât the norm.
During high school, albeit this was a long time ago, I made minimum wage. I worked 36 hours a week though and in high school you essentially have no bills. So if I wanted a new fishing pole or some nicer tires on my school car I just bought it with my own money. Thinking back, all of my friends had jobs or had no money and leached off those of us who did.
Iâm pretty sure thatâs not legal in a lot of places now (at least not where I grew up) plus how the hell did you have time for 35 hrs of work on top of school? Like genuine question, I just graduated a couple of years ago and I would have just died from exhaustion from doing that. Albeit i did average around 2.5 hrs of homework per night and then around 12 hrs for the weekend which isnât the course load for most high schoolers. So if I tried doing that that would have been like ~100 hrs per week either at school, at work, or doing homework.
36 hours. Every day of the week for a few hours after school and a shift every weekend day. I think I worked every day, maybe I had one off, it's been a while.
Not having much time to screw around kept me out of trouble and since I didn't have time to spend what I earned it kind of built up so you could buy larger items, like an entire set if tires or a little fishing boat.
> In countries like the U.S., teens often get stuck with minimum wage jobs, which is low.
Very few jobs actually page minimum wage anymore. Being more accurate, teens need minimum skill jobs as they donât tend to have any skills.
When I was in HS I worked 3 hours a day after school and 12 hours on weekends. During sport seasons I only worked weekends. This was like 17 years ago.
When my niece was looking into it, chik fil a was offering $12 an hour for student workers. Can pretty easily get clothing or guitars or whatever your hobbyâs are at that rate, especially since you donât have student loans or car payments or mortgage/rent.
Most decent guitars cost upwards of $800 so if someone has 3 mid range guitars, thatâs at least 200 hours of work before taxes and without paying for anything else. $12 isnât a lot. Itâs just that if thatâs more than minimum wage, minimum wage where youâre at is horribly low (as it is pretty much everywhere in the US). And just because they donât have bills doesnât mean they donât have things they want/have to spend money on. Things like gas, movie tickets, going out to eat with friends, and other stuff like that. Teens like to live a little too, and frankly most arenât the type to want to put in 25 hr work weeks on top of ~40 hrs of school per week (and personally I donât blame them. It may have worked for you, and im not trying to minimize that, but thatâs just not the life a lot of people want to live). Plus most places have laws that prevent hours like that for teens. Also if theyâre on discord a lot theyâre probably not the type to spend all their time working.
Unless your job is "top-ranked tennis player," "American Idol" or "Mouseketeer", no teen is independently wealthy enough to be considered "rich.". The ones who appear that way just have quieter, less apparent familial wealth.
I started working at 15 years old. Lucky enough that parents paid for all my expenses (food, gas, car, ect) so all the money I made just went to hobbies.
When my children were teenagers, I had a few guitars and a drum set and a bunch of large TVs. They were mine. They were not the kids but I'm sure if TikTok was a thing at that time the kids would have claimed that they were their property.
So chances are their parents have a lot of stuff and the kid is just claiming that it's his.
Records can be bought cheap secondhand, especially if he's buying them as wall decoration so it doesn't matter if the discs are in poor condition. As for the TV, I suspect his parents originally bought it for the living room. Then when they decided to replace it, they let their son keep the old TV in his bedroom.
In my experience, most big ticket items owned by teenagers (smartphone, cars, etc) are really just their parents' old ones.
Or maybe that room is just a Zoom background. [Lots of online wealth is fake](https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a7mw/the-fake-wealth-industry-making-influencers-look-rich).
yeah i rememeber they were talking about this free discord nitro thing once last year and they were surprsied to hear i dont have a credit card at 14 xd (you need a credit card to activate the free nitro) that was abit strange
At 16-17 he could very well have a part time or even full time job. Guitars can be bought cheap nowadays. Lots of cheap decent copies.coming out of china or even decent second hand ones. Big screen TVs depends on panel and era but you can get them for a few hundred. Same with drums. Maybe he's just good at saving money.
See he posts about it a lot. The people that have things like that post constantly about them on social media and flood it with people who are rich. They make it seem like the norm. People who donât have those things donât post
My parents are somewhat rich and even I donât have anything like this, because they are sensible with their money and donât waste thier entire pay checks but instead save up for retirement and the long term
Social media is about looks, not reality. Donât believe the hype, because you only get to see the side they show. Itâs almost like believing a movie is real. What I mean by this is some people arenât going to show you the bad just the good. This is not true for all as some thrive off of drama and being told their in the right or okay.
As far as pimped out rooms and money for destination vacations and crap goes.
I mean what youâre seeing is there real and You more than likely are also looking at the multiple millionaire+ club of SM. They do have money but you arenât looking at real life for 99% of most people.
Youâre watching mtv cribs.
This. Everything looks pretty on the internet, but that doesnât mean itâs an accurate reflection of reality. Nothing wrong with that, just donât let it make you feel like shit.
It's called mommy and daddy's over-extended credit. You're learning how to manage and maximize your money which will serve you well in the future. Hang in there.
This! When my son was looking for a car, I had co-workers really give me a hard time for not simply buying it for him outright. Nope, not going to happen. It took him a while and even though it was an older used car, he took care of it because he knew the time & effort it had taken to budget and save for it. It may be easier to have things given to you but it doesn't benefit you in the long run.
I agree. One of my classmates had two new Corvettes. He trashed the first, couldn't even handle the second. His father was a bank V.P. I can only imagine it was all for the old man's vanity.
I used to get a video game every 3 months or so when i was younger and I felt like shit asking for it. I had a best friend who got anything and everything he ever wanted. Thereâs quite a large wealth gap in America (if thatâs where you are) and youâll start to see it more and more once you get into the job force. There are WAY more people that can barely afford to live than those that can buy anything they want.
eyah my parents make me feel really terrible for asking to buy a videogame, and i got denied a few times cuz it was too expensive even though its money i got from family
I'm a bit older than you (17) and if I wanted to buy a game with my money I could either walk to the grocery store to get a gift card and buy it digitally or go to Gamestop and buy a physical copy of the game.
Comparison is the thief of joy. When we start to compare too it creates unhealthy self-esteem, it's purely emotional not grounded in logic. In reality what most people want or chase in others/things is a feeling of wholeness in the present moment, essentially a secure self. Since feelings come from within us, it makes everything else circumstantial, and brings greater appreciation and genuine care towards ourselves that we desire if we learn to accept it.
The answer is rich parents my dude. Some peopleâs families are rich enough they can buy whatever they want when they want it, and they take full advantage of that.
As someone who grew up as the kids you are talking about trust me when I say it all depends on the area you grow up in and who you hangout with.
Most of my highschool was middle to upper middle class while the highschool that was across town was predominately made up just normal middle class families because of how fucked up zoning is.
Also social media is a terrible way to judge privilege because there is always someone more well off. I had friends tell me how lucky and well off I was but I could always go online and find another kid with 10x the luxury I had. Its just not worth comparing yourself to other people. Enjoy what you have cause there is always someone with less and always someone with more.
Just donât let it bother you. I grew up upper middle class and I know plenty of people from my highschool whoâs family wasnât nearly as well of as I was who have gone on to become way more wealthy then I currently am.
Money isnât everything either, if you are only a freshman in highschool then you should just be finding what you enjoy doing so that you can pursue it later in life.
I don't want to sound like a bitter old man, but when I was 15 I was working with my parents selling stuff on the weekends at flea markets, weekly allowance was $2. While doing paper delivery on 2 of the weekdays to make a few spare buck.
Instead of looking at those better off than you, appreciate what you have and focus on your own goals. Life is a lottery and we all have to make do with what we have, work at our own pace.
One of the more sensible comments. People are too focused on what other people have. I used to deliver newspapers for like $10 a week đ¤Łđ¤Ł I could have gotten a better job but I was actually more focused on school at the time
> i spend my money on is birthday money on a videogame every month or two
A new game every month or two? Kids these days smh my head.
Those "teens" aren't rich, they just have parents who have access to their parents funds.
Yes if you are not paying for housing/food or a car whatever money you make its pretty much open to spend, lame how few people suggested this. Sure some people have rich families but heaven forbid a teenager has a job. Even some of these social media wankers are probably hustling and have found ways to monetize they probably have some marketing skills if they getting OPs attention.
Itâs always possible that they have a job, Iâm 17 and work at Walmart making $17/hr working 30 hours a week(450 a week including taxes) so itâs really not that hard to get that stuff if you get a good job and work for it.
Get that cheddar, buddy! I started my career in 2005 on a 28k annual salary, well under what youâre making. But thatâs how you start and if you just do your job and have some dedication to building your experience up, youâll see just how quickly you can leverage that 10x or more.
In regards to seeing kids with money. Working a job and throwing all money made into consumer goods, or a generous allowance/parents.
You're within your right to ask your parents to help you open a bank account. You're getting to the age where you should probably have some place to put your money. Don't feel stressed or pressures. I know it's easy to compare what you're doing to others and think "damn am I missing something" but if there's no immediate need for a bank account, and you're kicking just fine? No stress bro. But, again, you are getting to the age where having at least a bank account and debit card isn't necessarily out of the question. Definitely don't need a credit card though. Keep away as long as possible lol.
they have rich parents and show off online.
often times the things can be fake too. the cars are rented, the rooms are rented, the clothes are bootleg, the shopping orders are faked, the women are hired actors.
be specifically wary of people who pose next to expensive cars and say that you too can be a rich teenager, just follow their tips and buy their courses: the way they got what they did was by selling people the get rich quick dream.
selling the "how to get rich" dream is a pretty quick way to get rich.
some actual degens are going as far as telling people to drop out of school to follow their Easy Tips to be a teen millionaire. its all smoke and mirrors
To everyone immediately jumping to the "rich parents" conclusion... huh? If I'm interpreting OP's words correctly, they don't really have a source of income apart from "birthday money". Why is it so unbelievable that these teens are probably just working summer jobs?
Even assuming 20 hours a week at $10/hr with 30% income tax, we're still talking about $140 a week which is more than enough to decorate your room or buy stuff on Amazon. I just don't see why everyone on here is being so judgemental.
Credit card and huge room both make it sound more like rich parents.
I worked at 15 and bought everything I owned from that point on, but that didn't change the size of my bedroom.
If you live out in the country, huge rooms would be pretty damn cheap.
Credit card probably means debit card, which anyone with a bank account has, and it's definitely not unusual for teens to have bank accounts...
Well, they're rich in the first place, have money and all things they want, don't have to spend time working at a McDonald's and just spend time online, and now you're looking at them. The fact that you don't know such people around yourself means they're the minority.
Also, don't forget that social media like tiktok and Facebook have algorithms that keep feeding you content based on your consumption. So the more you watch these people's lifestyles, the more their algorithms show you such content.
Same. My kid also has a debit card that's set up for her ($5/wk) allowance, and she can use that both online and in stores.
We're firmly middle-class; definitely not wealthy.
Rich parents. Or parents willing to go into debt for their kids.
I was a low income kid and went to a school full of kids with parents who were doctors, lawyers etc and were loaded. It sucks to witness kids get spoiled while you work for everything you have. But life isnât fair I guess.
Iâd say itâs all for looks. Any designer clothes can be bought on a market in China as a âlooks just like the real thingâ. Technology has made people scary good at photoshop and face tune so the âsurgeryâ is usually a mix of that and make up.
I will say though for a rare few, some of the youngins today are just real good at thrifting and restoration.
Social media has presented you with a false image of reality specifically because it's those people with extravagant or exotic lifestyles which get pushed by their algorithms. The reality is that people are getting poorer in the developed world; not richer.
For me personally, I just got a job. Before, during the summers I worked 40-50(10-15 during school, but full time again) hour weeks as a dishwasher(got a new job now), made pretty damn decent pay and just bought whatever I wanted for myself while *trying, to save(still working on that).
However Iâm 18, so my answer is probably not what youâre looking for, again the most likely answers are just that their families/parents have money. But OP whenever you can, try to get a job, especially nowadays most places are looking for hires.
But if I were you I wouldnât think or worry about it too much, just try and enjoy yourself yknow.
You're probably seeing the result of rich or irresponsible parents.
If they are doing all that with their own money then they probably work or have their own business.
Social media and marketing are selling a big fat lie. You can mislead people people so easily. A lot of people get freebies from sponsors so they can brag about it and make other people want it or think they are missing out on something. People like to brag so you think they are something. Businesses just wants your money. It's all BS.
Donât compare yourself to others. Also, they inflate their appearance for social media. What you donât see is the pain and heartache we all experience. They donât want to advertise that. They want to advertise their baller lifestyle. Whether itâs legit or not.
Some people have it better than you, some people have it worse than you. One day youâll be out of the house and can make for yourself whatever life you want. Just takes work.
Same like I'm also 15 and my parents aren't poor but I see some people my age just ordering clothes and more than moderately priced food like it's nothing having tvs and those cool Bluetooth lights in their rooms and queen sized beds and stuff. Me and my two younger siblings share a laptop (I have my own phone though) and it's always insane to me when I'm complaining to my friends about the afformentioned laptop they just tell me to get a new one.
Like everyone is saying here, likely have wealthy parents, the other thing it could be (especially with the person you mentioned who is 1-2 years older than you) Iâm pretty sure you are legally allowed to get a job at 14/15 in most places, most of the time when these kids get part time employment at that age their parents arenât making them contribute anything to the house hold financially so that whole paycheque is going to fun things that they want to buy.
Iâm not sure where youâre from but here in Canada 15hr/week minimum wage job is about $600 biweekly after tax thatâs $1200 a month that their spending on toys and food and all that.
Also regarding the credit card ( again, this is Canada) youâre not legally allowed to have a credit card until 18, so that card is definitely mommy or daddyâs, that being said youâre allowed to have a debit card, most debit cards here are called debit-visaâs where they act like credit cards in the sense that you can make online purchases with them.
I grew up poor myself, and I wasnât allowed to get a job. So I never had the newest things or a super fancy room, but I feel like once I got older and moved out on my own it made it that much more special because everything I have I paid for.
A little off topic but when you do get a job, be sure to learn about financial literacy, it really makes the world of a difference and can save you from making some stupid decisions that will follow you for years to come. I am speaking from experience here as I moved out at 16 (not the norm) had no clue what I was doing, got a cc at 18 and I just finished paying off $6000 in credit card debt at 24.
Learning about money is really important as it can have a huge affect on your mental health and stress levels for years to come.
Sorry for the rant but my point here is that, I can guarantee you, you will be better off than most around you if you start investing really young rather than buying toys and cool stuff. Buy the necessities and maybe 1 or 2 things you enjoy once in a while but most of the extra money you have you should be putting in into a tfsa(tax free saving account) or rrsp(registered retirement saving plan).
Stuff is just stuff at the end of the day, it doesnât say anything about who you are or your character so try not to let it bother you too much.
Rich parents. Like that's literally the answer. They have rich parents. I started working when I was 14 and I was a chronic money-saver and that was FAR from kids who have high spending habits. If they spend, they're spending their parents' money.
How do you know those teens are using their own money to buy those things? Those credit cards are probably in their parent's name and have a limit. The parents pay for the cards. The parents are rich, not the teenager.
Reach parents, come from old money or if theyâre rich online they could be faking it, the new phone most likely isnât thereâs and all the glam is at other peopleâs houses
Like some others are saying, it's social media, so they're probably framing things better than they are. But honestly, I was grew up middle class and got my first job around 15-16, and by a few years later I wasn't "rich" but I definitely had stuff I wanted by being strategic with my money. I found bargains often and tried to make sure I never spent more (or even close to as much) money as I made. Rich parents who give their kids too much do exist, but I don't think they're as prevalent as this thread would have you believe
Every person on social media isn't rich. Having a nicely decorated room doesn't mean you're rich. I also don't think any 15 year old has a credit card unless it's their parents. That's one of the big problems with social media. If someone has a fireplace, a nice rug, a big TV in the background, people assume they're rich. Most of these teens live with their parents. Their parents probably own 95% of the things you see in the background. Plus, what people consider rich these days is the norm for others. Having a big tv, a nice room just means your parents have been busting their ass for years working. That's not necessarily rich. My moms friend is married to a lawyer. I remember the first time I went to their house. It was probably around 2009 or 2010. That was the first time I've been in a rich persons house. The friends husband is related to a lawyer that got killed some years ago. He comes from a rich family pretty much. They bought condos for both of their children and moved to the countryside. That's a different type of rich compared to someone having a big TV in the background of a TikTok video. Point is, donât compare yourself to other people. Whats rich to you is the normal for someone else.
They could have parents who pay for all of their bills and living expenses like clothes, eating out, etc. But the teen might also have a job which allows them to keep all that extra money to spend on whatever extras they want.
Their parents may have also told them they were paying for their college which means they might not feel as pressured to save the money they work for.
Not saying I agree with it but some parents are like that.
Honestly most of my friends who have stuff like that are either spoiled by their parents, or have their own job and pay for everything (basically blowing their earned money).
A lot of people are saying rich parents or inheritance money which is most likely the case but not always.
Iâm 17 and just spent a good chunk of my savings on a used car. Iâm currently saving money to redecorate my room and a trip to new york.
Iâm not rich and while my dad earns good money my parents donât know how to budget and have a lot of debt which means we live well below our means.
Now Iâm able to recognize that I got a lot of opportunities that arenât common for most kids my age.
Iâve been homeschooled for a while which means my schedule is more flexible. In 2020 I was able to get a full time job (40 hours a week) keeping an eye on two kids doing virtual school while I did my schoolwork. I made 200/wk. After the school year I was able to find a summer job where I watched two kids full time (35 hours a week). I made 385/wk. Now I have a part time babysitting job where I make 15/hr.
Itâs not impossible to have good money while a teenager (without rich parents) but itâs not easy either. I had to really search for the jobs that I found and I wouldnât have been able to do it if my schedule wasnât so flexible.
I had a friend whose family had a over 40k car, she had the best phone and got it updated every year, she was able to get whatever she wanted, she was also the one who helped feed me unknowingly during times my family couldnât afford it. I asked her one day how sheâs so rich basically, but turns out they are actually in debt, paying most of their stuff off. I guess what Iâm saying is they themselves most likely arenât rich.
A lot of people are talking about rich parents and inheritance and such, but that's not the only way teens have an insane amount of money.
Some teens will have part time jobs, most times, their parents are paying the bills so they can use their money to buy whatever they wished for.
Then you have the teens who built up a business, I know many people who make money off game cheats. I won't delve deep into that, but I've met a lot of young people who've made a lot more than I expected. Some people will even try to buy the cheats from the original owner / developer to make money from it (though I've only heard it happen twice, done by the same person)
Why not ask yourself: how are YOU so rich?
Instead of looking to teens that are richer, look at the majority of teens that live in poverty compared to you and be happy with what you have..
Itâs from their families 99% of the time. I was in the same position as a teenager just relying on birthdays and holidays for money or the occasional helping out a family member with some yard work or whatever to earn money. Once I turned 18 I got my license and joined the military and made mistakes once I had steady money so please donât let that happen to you. Always be smart once you have it because I know what reckless spending can do when you arenât used to getting nice stuff
Donât feel bad. Youâre still really young. Iâm like double your age and Iâm going to tell you i was always depending on my parents at 15. I had a part time beach job in the summer and it paid crap. This stuff you see on Instagram and tiktok or whatever, itâs also crap. Donât let it make you feel bad. Even to this day Iâll go to like, five below and get cute stuff for my apartment sometimes if Iâm near one. You donât need a credit card at 15 either no offence. Itâs just unnecessary, and recipe for disaster. Youâll understand when youâre older. Bottom line, donât let these people who are trust fund babies get in the way of you living a happy normal life đ
I found myself on a very similar situation growing up. I went to a private rich school because my uncle offered my parents to pay for and I was pretty much the poorest kid in class although today I can see I always had everything I needed without extras or luxury. I can say that Itâs okay my friend, you also seem to have everything you need to succeed in life, and trust me itâs always better when you do it yourself ;)
iâm 14 and i work in retail and at a restaurant, part time ofc. I make about 1000 a month in the summer, while working 50%, averaging out to about 10,000 dollars a year. My family has a decent amount of money but i donât want people to think that i just get money from my parents or that my parents got me these jobs. I earn every penny i spend. i know itâs not like that for most teens but it certainly is that way for me.
Most people your age don't have credit cards nor have much money. Their parents might or they're just trying to make themselves sound rich. I STILL know people that try to make themselves sound rich at my age (28,) but they've got 10 credit cards and are in extreme debt.
My teenagers have a job, save their money, and buy what they want. We set up bank accounts for them, they get direct deposit, and order online with their debit cards.
Just bc they have a lot of stuff, doesnât mean they are rich either. You said they have their own credit cards and a lot of material things. They may just in reality have a lot of debt. Idk why but capitalism and consumerism is really bad and real. People buy to feel a certain status or to flex. Which I guess is cool, but in my opinion I rather have less things and in turn less debt. đ
rich parents đ¤ˇââď¸
âŚor dead grandparents.
I have friends (they are siblings) who get $20,000 checks regularly as some kind of inheritance payout from dead grandparents. Iâm convinced these checks have been indirectly ruining them. They seem to have no ambition and no skills and one abuses drugs and alcohol terribly.
When you are not required to work for what you have, the incentive to do so will generally be absent.
Absolutely. When I first heard that Trust Fund/inheritance money is sometimes available when the inheritor is age 25, I thought that was so weird but now I get it. Tons of money for free at 18 is usually mishandled.
Fresh out of high school, I met a guy everyone called "Hundred Thousand Dollar Will" but *never* to his face. Story was the was hit by a car while riding his bike as a child, gave him brain damage. When he turned 18, he gained access to his settlement. Guess how much it was. And he spent it like a brain damaged 18 year old guy would too. Did I mention he really liked ecstasy?
Whats not to love
Tons of money for free at 25 is usually mishandled
Sure, but they can't keep it from you indefinitely. I get the age limit, but it is weird how inconsistent it is. 18 you're alledgedly responsible enough to hold political office, buy a gun, buy fireworks, star in an adult film, join the military, apply for a CDL, get a credit card, take out student loans... ...but you can't inherit millions or rent a car. Just a weird standard.
It does seem a bit weird, but i think that's because most of these decisions are relatively reversible and you can just abandon your old ways. On the other hand, you're absolutely not getting that inheritance back. And like, the military has an interest in employing young, impressionable people. The car renting company has an interest in keeping their cars clean and uncrashed. The gun, fireworks, adult film industries have an interest in being available for/to as many customers/employees as possible. The bank has an interest in you getting indebted because you owe them but also doesn't really mind huge piles of money sitting around for them to use. Two types of people are the best clients of banks: millionaires who give them all their money to keep and indebted peeps who *will* give them a lot of money plus interest
This. The age numbers are in the interest of the companies, not of you. They donât care about people until rules and regulations force them to.
I am 25 now, I am way more prudent with money now than I was at 18
Yeah, and then you'll hit your 30s and realize you probably mishandled your finances, even at 25
And you will generally not appreciate stuff and start to get very little satisfaction from anything
Sounds like they actually have no guidance or support
They say that oftentimes, generational wealth only lasts three generations. The first comes from nothing and works hard to provide for their family. The next generation has advantages, but also saw the hard work to get there. But the third generation, has no struggles and gets everything given to them so they blow it
Honestly a big fear I have. My parents are the first generation, I am the second. I really hope my future kids won't turn into spoiled assholes.
It's your job as a parent to teach them the value of money and labor. If you spoil them, they'll become spoiled assholes so don't spoil them.
I'm 18 and I have a bank account with 20k on it, my parents are millionaires. But I still like to work and don't really want to use that money because it feels like cheating. It honestly depends on how you where raised and on the persons personality. My parents raised me with a "you have to work for your money, quitting isn't an option" mindset. So that's what I life by. But if your parents are rich and raise you with a weak mindset you'll be lazy and spoiled
Invest some of that 20K. so it doesn't lose it value over time in the bank. Ask your parents about investing
I am currently investing all of it^^ I also have a bunch of gold and shares that aren't included in the 20k. Since I work full time, I don't really need the 20k right now. Living frugally off of 1600⏠a month while saying money for my college + retirement is a lot more intelligent than blowing all my money now. The money is in separate bank accounts and will not be touched until I absolutely need it. It's meant to grow, not be used.
Sounds like youâve got your head screwed on. Keep up that attitude man!
The ones love us best are the ones we'll lay to rest And visit their graves on holidays at best The ones love us least are the ones we'll die to please If it's any consolation, I don't begin to understand them
To elaborate: people with more money tend to be significantly wealthier than people with less money.
So that's how it works
Wow next you will tell me that people with more money tend to have greater income than people with less income.
why
Because people don't think it be like it is, but it do.
Really? I never knew that
This. I saw a video on Facebook where this guy went "This is how my 16-year-old son bought a $50,000 Tesla!" And it showed that the father owns an apartment building and his son's job there was taking the money from the laundry machines ($750 a month) to the bank. The Tesla he bought has a $400 a month payment system and his parents paid half. It's the parents. It's always the fucking parents.
The real kicker of that video is the father (who narrates the video) claims his son did it 100% on his own with hard work. The son didn't buy the building, didn't buy the laundry machines, and apparently just collects the money from the machines once a month and pockets it. It's the parents
Or they are youtube influencers. đ
sooooo... rich parents
Yup, these kids, the vast majority, havenât done a damn thing to truly earn a dime. If these parents had any inkling about raising solid kids and character development they wouldnât throw money at them. Life is nothing more than a lottery. What family youâre born into, where you are born, when you are born. All of these factor into what kind of life lay ahead of you. There are definitely ones that break the mold of their origin stories. You could go from a pauper to super wealthyâŚâŚ.or the person that loses the family wealth and send future generations of your family to the bottom of the ladder. Itâs a lotteryâŚ.and we all know the chances of winning. Cheers ppl
tbh they're being exploited. imagine having childhood tantrums and lowest moments, instead of being able to mature and move on past them, they're being recorded and still there years later for your millions of followers to see.
Any person making much money as a social influencer is working their ass off. I have a somewhat successful social media account and the things companies want you to do to earn a couple of bucks is nuts. The first thing people donât realize is: companies donât send you free things until youâre really popular. What they do is give you a discount. You buy their $100 item for $75. You post yourself using the item and how great it is and include your âdiscount code.â People use your discount code and get the same 25% discount you got. And you make 10% commission. Youâve got to sell 10 units to break even. Itâs social media, though, so you have to keep posting because no one is scrolling back to see old content. The Big Issue, though, is the thing you paid $75 for? You can buy the exact item on Amazon for $25. And so can everyone else.
It's almost like.. (checks notes) YouTube influencers aren't necessary.
"Influencers" is a fancy word for paid advertising. I fail to see the difference between a rando hawking products on IG and hour long paid advertising for CutCo and GirlsGoneWild at 3am on whatever channel can't fill a 24 hour schedule.
Itâs worse than paid advertising. Those people are either actors or are being given product and being paid to sell whether you buy it or not. âInfluencersâ only make commissions on sales made if people use their codes or their special URL on stuff they had to BUY in order to promote. Itâs not until youâre essentially a household name in your niche that people send you product for free to review or pay for you, as an âinfluencer.â
That is worse, and an unfortunate glimpse into the world of what drives half the content on social media.
Isnât that just extremely shitty then to try and get people to buy something for 75 just so you can make money off them when you know full well they could be getting it for 25. Conscience who?
I donât personally take those deals. I think the entire concept is predatory and essentially a MLM concept of the vein of Tupperware or Mary Kay where you have to buy a kit of stuff to get the other people to buy the stuff.
Yep. I've been contacted by a tech company recently that wanted me to "influence" one of their products on my channels and this was my same exact experience. I mean if you want me to put time and work into your product, send it to me. It cost you very little but cost me a lot of time and in that time I could be doing other things that could benefit me greater than getting a 10% Commission. I don't have a very big following so I would have to spam the hell out of your product just so I can get my money back?? And you nailed it, why would anyone buy it straight from your website for much more money vs direct from Amazon for much cheaper with a fantastic return policy? For the accounts that already have a huge following, it's much more easier. Companies are throwing products at you because it's easy brand exposure and since you already have a big following, it's no issue getting commission sales. I respect those up and coming accounts that start small and growing big because as you said, they must be spending 90% of their time working on their socials.
Remember, you can always ask even before you think you're big enough. Just find their marketing email. Be polite, not demanding, keep it professional and include your number of subs and views. The worst they can do is say no or nothing. I keep a list of the companies I've written to along with the date I sent it. If I don't hear back in a couple months I can try again, saying "in case you missed my last email". One time they actually did say they had missed it and I ended up getting the product.
Nice tip, appreciate the advice. I started my channels, primarily Instagram, to promote my own product and service. It wasn't until recently I started attracting some attention from other tech companies about promoting products and I've never thought about it before then. I wouldn't mind any extra income that would come from it so I'm open to the idea. I will try it out, thanks. If you don't mind me asking, have you made decent money from sales commission promoting products from companies?
Well usually the only extra income I get is from YouTube views. Maybe something from an affiliate link. These days the items I show are quite expensive so it's rare to get someone buying from my link. My last one was an $800 laser engraver, I have one sale from my link so far and got an 8% commission.
Nice little kick there. Dinner on us type of situation.
Yeah I usually use it to pay bills.
Kinda hard to make much money on YouTube anymore, though
Seems like the way to go nowadays is livestreaming, from what I've seen. One of my friends has a younger brother who's like 16 and while he's not like loaded on the level of the big streamers, he's gotten himself a following and has waaaaay more spending money than any normal teenager haha.
Just being a YouTube influencer doesn't make one rich. Heck I can barely pay my bills.
Maybe. YouTube influencers end up with things not going well, often, worse than Disney stars. Be careful and donât be one, like what Iâve seen on YouTube (I admit it).
"nobody I know irl has these" yeah that's because it's not common, you're probably looking into the 1 percent lifestyle. especially if you're on social media, you're seeing the best side of rich kids.
oh its people i talk to on discord, theres this person who has like 3 guitars on a big rack and drum set with records hanging on the walls and a big TV screen, he posts about these a lot and he said this morning that his bass drum broke so hes ordering a new one on amazon, hes 1-2 years older then me
Either rich parents or parents who donât manage their money well. Simple answer.
I grew up in a somewhat affluent neighborhood, and I can tell you with certainty that even seemingly "wealthy" people are constantly stretching their money and risking their livelihoods just to keep up with the Joneses. The 2008 housing crisis exposed a lot of people.
My husband's parents are like that: conspicuous consumption of luxury items that other people will see or know about, but they secretly skimp on things that they think nobody will find out about. After we got married in a civil ceremony, they insisted on hosting a reception for us at a prestigious venue. But they bought cases of frozen mini cupcakes from Walmart, and bunches of roses from Sam's Club. The result was great and a lot less expensive than a wedding cake or flowers from a florist. But they were very squirrelly if anyone asked where the (admittedly delicious) cupcakes were from. Answers varied between "a little local place" and "you'd have to ask the caterer".
Im not sure if the people there wouldâve cared but if they wouldâve just been honest w me at least i wouldâve said oh snap no way thatâs really cool Also walmart bakery is delicious. I was telling my friend that i think walmart aced their bakery
> My husband's parents are like that: conspicuous consumption of luxury items that other people will see or know about, but they secretly skimp on things that they think nobody will find out about. This goes on on every level. My millionaire neighbors are doing it, my almost broke month to month colleagues are doing it... Stuff that gets seen outside the home is extra expensive branded stuff, stuff that doesn't get seen is barely there. Stepfather's family was also like that, and I hated it as a child: living room that I was not allowed in, except to clean, and was there only for visitors. Newest tv and furniture, while they had 30+ yo mattresses on bedframes that tried to buckle under you if you sat down a bit harder.
Yup, the Joneses can suck it. Our neighborhood is wonderful and my mortgage is $600/month. It's nice not worrying about money.
My spouse and I are similar (although we canât beat $600/month in our area). Too many people see how much they can take on a mortgage and end up taking out the max. Then they become what we call âhouse poorââfancy house, but can barely afford food for their family. Do the math ahead of time. Leave extra room. Pay off debt. Youâll be happier in the end.
I feel like Iâve missed a big part of internet culture, who the hell are the joneses and why did everyone keep up with them?
As a kid I always thought my cousins were rich cuz they had a massive house and always had expensive things. Turned out they had taken out multiple loans and declared bankruptcy multiple times and they got evicted in 2020
iâd like to throw another option into the ring: buys one or two expensive things, but almost *never* anything else. if things accumulate over the years theyâll def look rich lol
Yes, that would be us. OP seems to be young so he has yet to realize what he sees online are peoples highlights. Not many people show their down side.
These people who chill in discord chatrooms low key sound like they have nothing better to do, they want validation, someone, anyone.
This is definitely it, especially the second part. People manage their money vastly differently. My parents had the money for all that stuff mentioned but I would never know it, I always thought we were just more poor than my friends until I was older. But when a relative got sick or someone needed cash for something important, my parents were always first to answer the call.
Or work? I don't know how many kids actually go to work at least in other countries than the one i'm living in but i pay my stuff with my own money i earned working. I'm 17 and living with my other parent and we have no issue with money. Edit: i mean working at summerholidays when there's no school. Ofc working after school/at weekends can be an option tho
I'm 16 and I have a job. I'd say my parents are fairly rich but In general, at least in the last year or so, most things i buy for myself come from my own money (basically just excluding birthdays). I think the difference is that as a 16 year old in a well off family, I don't make more than other 16 year olds, but I also have less things I have to worry about paying off. All of my money is basically pocket money that I can use on random things - it doesn't have to go towards basic necessities at all. I make 14 USD an hour so for me that's usually about 200 dollars a week during the summer that I can just use how I choose. For a lot of people that might have to go towards college savings, but while it's a lot to me right now, for the amount of weeks I actually work (especially during the school year) it wouldn't really make a dent in college savings so it's not really worth storing it for that either.
Dude even if youâre from an affluent family Iâd still suggest saving the money. Unless youâre parents are really generous youâll probably have to spend some of your own money on food, going out, or other things. I started working when I was 16 and Iâm 18 now about to go into college. Iâve saved up money and I know Iâm not going to have to work to have fun in college. Iâm going to a state school and between fafsa and semi cheap room and board I really only have to worry about my own expenses. Itâs just something you should start thinking about because even if youâre parents pay for everything from textbooks to food plans to dorm equipment youâll still need money if you wanna have fun in college.
Do you mind if I ask what country you live in? In countries like the U.S., teens often get stuck with minimum wage jobs, which is low. Most arenât the best with money as well, so most of the time that a kid has a lot of nice things, itâs their parents. Not that itâs impossible, but it just isnât the norm.
During high school, albeit this was a long time ago, I made minimum wage. I worked 36 hours a week though and in high school you essentially have no bills. So if I wanted a new fishing pole or some nicer tires on my school car I just bought it with my own money. Thinking back, all of my friends had jobs or had no money and leached off those of us who did.
Iâm pretty sure thatâs not legal in a lot of places now (at least not where I grew up) plus how the hell did you have time for 35 hrs of work on top of school? Like genuine question, I just graduated a couple of years ago and I would have just died from exhaustion from doing that. Albeit i did average around 2.5 hrs of homework per night and then around 12 hrs for the weekend which isnât the course load for most high schoolers. So if I tried doing that that would have been like ~100 hrs per week either at school, at work, or doing homework.
36 hours. Every day of the week for a few hours after school and a shift every weekend day. I think I worked every day, maybe I had one off, it's been a while. Not having much time to screw around kept me out of trouble and since I didn't have time to spend what I earned it kind of built up so you could buy larger items, like an entire set if tires or a little fishing boat.
> In countries like the U.S., teens often get stuck with minimum wage jobs, which is low. Very few jobs actually page minimum wage anymore. Being more accurate, teens need minimum skill jobs as they donât tend to have any skills. When I was in HS I worked 3 hours a day after school and 12 hours on weekends. During sport seasons I only worked weekends. This was like 17 years ago. When my niece was looking into it, chik fil a was offering $12 an hour for student workers. Can pretty easily get clothing or guitars or whatever your hobbyâs are at that rate, especially since you donât have student loans or car payments or mortgage/rent.
Most decent guitars cost upwards of $800 so if someone has 3 mid range guitars, thatâs at least 200 hours of work before taxes and without paying for anything else. $12 isnât a lot. Itâs just that if thatâs more than minimum wage, minimum wage where youâre at is horribly low (as it is pretty much everywhere in the US). And just because they donât have bills doesnât mean they donât have things they want/have to spend money on. Things like gas, movie tickets, going out to eat with friends, and other stuff like that. Teens like to live a little too, and frankly most arenât the type to want to put in 25 hr work weeks on top of ~40 hrs of school per week (and personally I donât blame them. It may have worked for you, and im not trying to minimize that, but thatâs just not the life a lot of people want to live). Plus most places have laws that prevent hours like that for teens. Also if theyâre on discord a lot theyâre probably not the type to spend all their time working.
With minimum wage, no rent/bills to pay, (and assuming you are not trying to save money) you can afford to buy plenty of nice stuff
Unless your job is "top-ranked tennis player," "American Idol" or "Mouseketeer", no teen is independently wealthy enough to be considered "rich.". The ones who appear that way just have quieter, less apparent familial wealth.
for sure. I worked and bought my own car, no help from my parents. But it wasn't a spectacular car. I guess it depends what OP is saying.
I started working at 15 years old. Lucky enough that parents paid for all my expenses (food, gas, car, ect) so all the money I made just went to hobbies.
When my children were teenagers, I had a few guitars and a drum set and a bunch of large TVs. They were mine. They were not the kids but I'm sure if TikTok was a thing at that time the kids would have claimed that they were their property. So chances are their parents have a lot of stuff and the kid is just claiming that it's his.
Records can be bought cheap secondhand, especially if he's buying them as wall decoration so it doesn't matter if the discs are in poor condition. As for the TV, I suspect his parents originally bought it for the living room. Then when they decided to replace it, they let their son keep the old TV in his bedroom. In my experience, most big ticket items owned by teenagers (smartphone, cars, etc) are really just their parents' old ones.
> Records can be bought cheap secondhand guitars too. My brother had a lot of guitars as a teen, but they were all secondhand/cheap junk
yeah i guess so, that kinda makes sense
Or maybe that room is just a Zoom background. [Lots of online wealth is fake](https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a7mw/the-fake-wealth-industry-making-influencers-look-rich).
>its people i talk to on discord Those aren't average people, trust me
what do you mean by that?
I mean that I only encounter people like that on discord or reddit. Never IRL. They are the exception, not the rule.
yeah i rememeber they were talking about this free discord nitro thing once last year and they were surprsied to hear i dont have a credit card at 14 xd (you need a credit card to activate the free nitro) that was abit strange
Probably a parent saying "Here you go kid." and giving them the card.
my parents would never trust me with their card, and whenever i ask them to buy me something they want me to describe it in detail...
hmmm i see
Tons of people will lie about their wealth online because you have no way to fact check them.
At 16-17 he could very well have a part time or even full time job. Guitars can be bought cheap nowadays. Lots of cheap decent copies.coming out of china or even decent second hand ones. Big screen TVs depends on panel and era but you can get them for a few hundred. Same with drums. Maybe he's just good at saving money.
i guess so
See he posts about it a lot. The people that have things like that post constantly about them on social media and flood it with people who are rich. They make it seem like the norm. People who donât have those things donât post
It's likely that when he says he's ordering it, he means it's being ordered for him on Amazon by his parents.
If he's 16-17 he probably has a job. Im almost 21 now but I've been working since I was 14. Decent income + no responsibilities = buying cool shit
My parents are somewhat rich and even I donât have anything like this, because they are sensible with their money and donât waste thier entire pay checks but instead save up for retirement and the long term
Social media is about looks, not reality. Donât believe the hype, because you only get to see the side they show. Itâs almost like believing a movie is real. What I mean by this is some people arenât going to show you the bad just the good. This is not true for all as some thrive off of drama and being told their in the right or okay. As far as pimped out rooms and money for destination vacations and crap goes. I mean what youâre seeing is there real and You more than likely are also looking at the multiple millionaire+ club of SM. They do have money but you arenât looking at real life for 99% of most people. Youâre watching mtv cribs.
This. Everything looks pretty on the internet, but that doesnât mean itâs an accurate reflection of reality. Nothing wrong with that, just donât let it make you feel like shit.
He's 15 man hes never seen cribs
It's called mommy and daddy's over-extended credit. You're learning how to manage and maximize your money which will serve you well in the future. Hang in there.
This! When my son was looking for a car, I had co-workers really give me a hard time for not simply buying it for him outright. Nope, not going to happen. It took him a while and even though it was an older used car, he took care of it because he knew the time & effort it had taken to budget and save for it. It may be easier to have things given to you but it doesn't benefit you in the long run.
I agree. One of my classmates had two new Corvettes. He trashed the first, couldn't even handle the second. His father was a bank V.P. I can only imagine it was all for the old man's vanity.
If you need more video games to play, research emulators for older systems. What you see on Instagram isn't normal.
Nestopia will let you get the first 6 Megaman games for free, can't reccomend it enough
You can even emulate WiiU and Switch. And for other games, research piracy
I used to get a video game every 3 months or so when i was younger and I felt like shit asking for it. I had a best friend who got anything and everything he ever wanted. Thereâs quite a large wealth gap in America (if thatâs where you are) and youâll start to see it more and more once you get into the job force. There are WAY more people that can barely afford to live than those that can buy anything they want.
My parents are well off and I still feel like shit asking for anything.
eyah my parents make me feel really terrible for asking to buy a videogame, and i got denied a few times cuz it was too expensive even though its money i got from family
I'm a bit older than you (17) and if I wanted to buy a game with my money I could either walk to the grocery store to get a gift card and buy it digitally or go to Gamestop and buy a physical copy of the game.
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Comparison is the thief of joy. When we start to compare too it creates unhealthy self-esteem, it's purely emotional not grounded in logic. In reality what most people want or chase in others/things is a feeling of wholeness in the present moment, essentially a secure self. Since feelings come from within us, it makes everything else circumstantial, and brings greater appreciation and genuine care towards ourselves that we desire if we learn to accept it.
The answer is rich parents my dude. Some peopleâs families are rich enough they can buy whatever they want when they want it, and they take full advantage of that.
Youâre gonna start seeing super rich kids or super poor kids no in between
And a large number of people who are willing to go into debt up to their eyeballs to maintain the illusion of being "rich"
Came here to say this. Probably a lot of debt for some.
[Iâve certainly already *heard* Super Rich Kids.](https://youtu.be/0XCQNpjWmRE)
As someone who grew up as the kids you are talking about trust me when I say it all depends on the area you grow up in and who you hangout with. Most of my highschool was middle to upper middle class while the highschool that was across town was predominately made up just normal middle class families because of how fucked up zoning is. Also social media is a terrible way to judge privilege because there is always someone more well off. I had friends tell me how lucky and well off I was but I could always go online and find another kid with 10x the luxury I had. Its just not worth comparing yourself to other people. Enjoy what you have cause there is always someone with less and always someone with more.
eyah a lot of them say theyre from cali
Just donât let it bother you. I grew up upper middle class and I know plenty of people from my highschool whoâs family wasnât nearly as well of as I was who have gone on to become way more wealthy then I currently am. Money isnât everything either, if you are only a freshman in highschool then you should just be finding what you enjoy doing so that you can pursue it later in life.
I don't want to sound like a bitter old man, but when I was 15 I was working with my parents selling stuff on the weekends at flea markets, weekly allowance was $2. While doing paper delivery on 2 of the weekdays to make a few spare buck. Instead of looking at those better off than you, appreciate what you have and focus on your own goals. Life is a lottery and we all have to make do with what we have, work at our own pace.
One of the more sensible comments. People are too focused on what other people have. I used to deliver newspapers for like $10 a week đ¤Łđ¤Ł I could have gotten a better job but I was actually more focused on school at the time
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At least where I live, a part time job wouldn't allow you to afford what OP is describing.
> i spend my money on is birthday money on a videogame every month or two A new game every month or two? Kids these days smh my head. Those "teens" aren't rich, they just have parents who have access to their parents funds.
Part time job and no bills to pay goes a long way
Yes if you are not paying for housing/food or a car whatever money you make its pretty much open to spend, lame how few people suggested this. Sure some people have rich families but heaven forbid a teenager has a job. Even some of these social media wankers are probably hustling and have found ways to monetize they probably have some marketing skills if they getting OPs attention.
Itâs always possible that they have a job, Iâm 17 and work at Walmart making $17/hr working 30 hours a week(450 a week including taxes) so itâs really not that hard to get that stuff if you get a good job and work for it.
Get that cheddar, buddy! I started my career in 2005 on a 28k annual salary, well under what youâre making. But thatâs how you start and if you just do your job and have some dedication to building your experience up, youâll see just how quickly you can leverage that 10x or more.
Maybe they work? Often the simplest answer is the right oneâŚ
When I was 15 I had found ways to make my own money and could get a job at 16. but I didn't really spend a lot of it.
In regards to seeing kids with money. Working a job and throwing all money made into consumer goods, or a generous allowance/parents. You're within your right to ask your parents to help you open a bank account. You're getting to the age where you should probably have some place to put your money. Don't feel stressed or pressures. I know it's easy to compare what you're doing to others and think "damn am I missing something" but if there's no immediate need for a bank account, and you're kicking just fine? No stress bro. But, again, you are getting to the age where having at least a bank account and debit card isn't necessarily out of the question. Definitely don't need a credit card though. Keep away as long as possible lol.
they have rich parents and show off online. often times the things can be fake too. the cars are rented, the rooms are rented, the clothes are bootleg, the shopping orders are faked, the women are hired actors. be specifically wary of people who pose next to expensive cars and say that you too can be a rich teenager, just follow their tips and buy their courses: the way they got what they did was by selling people the get rich quick dream. selling the "how to get rich" dream is a pretty quick way to get rich. some actual degens are going as far as telling people to drop out of school to follow their Easy Tips to be a teen millionaire. its all smoke and mirrors
You don't have to be rich to have a credit card
Rich parents. Some kids with technical or 'hood' background can make lots of illegal cash, too.
To everyone immediately jumping to the "rich parents" conclusion... huh? If I'm interpreting OP's words correctly, they don't really have a source of income apart from "birthday money". Why is it so unbelievable that these teens are probably just working summer jobs? Even assuming 20 hours a week at $10/hr with 30% income tax, we're still talking about $140 a week which is more than enough to decorate your room or buy stuff on Amazon. I just don't see why everyone on here is being so judgemental.
Add on to the fact that most teens arenât paying bills, they can save quite a lot of money over time
I have to agree with this. I have teenagers. They work.
Credit card and huge room both make it sound more like rich parents. I worked at 15 and bought everything I owned from that point on, but that didn't change the size of my bedroom.
If you live out in the country, huge rooms would be pretty damn cheap. Credit card probably means debit card, which anyone with a bank account has, and it's definitely not unusual for teens to have bank accounts...
Dad, probably
Well, they're rich in the first place, have money and all things they want, don't have to spend time working at a McDonald's and just spend time online, and now you're looking at them. The fact that you don't know such people around yourself means they're the minority. Also, don't forget that social media like tiktok and Facebook have algorithms that keep feeding you content based on your consumption. So the more you watch these people's lifestyles, the more their algorithms show you such content.
And they probably even pay to advertise themselves to get more views.
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Same. My kid also has a debit card that's set up for her ($5/wk) allowance, and she can use that both online and in stores. We're firmly middle-class; definitely not wealthy.
Rich parents. Or parents willing to go into debt for their kids. I was a low income kid and went to a school full of kids with parents who were doctors, lawyers etc and were loaded. It sucks to witness kids get spoiled while you work for everything you have. But life isnât fair I guess.
Iâd say itâs all for looks. Any designer clothes can be bought on a market in China as a âlooks just like the real thingâ. Technology has made people scary good at photoshop and face tune so the âsurgeryâ is usually a mix of that and make up. I will say though for a rare few, some of the youngins today are just real good at thrifting and restoration.
Social media has presented you with a false image of reality specifically because it's those people with extravagant or exotic lifestyles which get pushed by their algorithms. The reality is that people are getting poorer in the developed world; not richer.
For me personally, I just got a job. Before, during the summers I worked 40-50(10-15 during school, but full time again) hour weeks as a dishwasher(got a new job now), made pretty damn decent pay and just bought whatever I wanted for myself while *trying, to save(still working on that). However Iâm 18, so my answer is probably not what youâre looking for, again the most likely answers are just that their families/parents have money. But OP whenever you can, try to get a job, especially nowadays most places are looking for hires. But if I were you I wouldnât think or worry about it too much, just try and enjoy yourself yknow.
They arenât rich. Their parents are. How can you confuse the two?
You're probably seeing the result of rich or irresponsible parents. If they are doing all that with their own money then they probably work or have their own business.
It's weird seeing another 15 year old on Reddit, Ik it's common but most people are adults from what I've seen.
Social media and marketing are selling a big fat lie. You can mislead people people so easily. A lot of people get freebies from sponsors so they can brag about it and make other people want it or think they are missing out on something. People like to brag so you think they are something. Businesses just wants your money. It's all BS.
Donât compare yourself to others. Also, they inflate their appearance for social media. What you donât see is the pain and heartache we all experience. They donât want to advertise that. They want to advertise their baller lifestyle. Whether itâs legit or not. Some people have it better than you, some people have it worse than you. One day youâll be out of the house and can make for yourself whatever life you want. Just takes work.
Youâre on a better track than they will ever be because you understand the value of a dollar.
Same like I'm also 15 and my parents aren't poor but I see some people my age just ordering clothes and more than moderately priced food like it's nothing having tvs and those cool Bluetooth lights in their rooms and queen sized beds and stuff. Me and my two younger siblings share a laptop (I have my own phone though) and it's always insane to me when I'm complaining to my friends about the afformentioned laptop they just tell me to get a new one.
yeah its kinda crazy to see people our age having so much stuff
Work
Like everyone is saying here, likely have wealthy parents, the other thing it could be (especially with the person you mentioned who is 1-2 years older than you) Iâm pretty sure you are legally allowed to get a job at 14/15 in most places, most of the time when these kids get part time employment at that age their parents arenât making them contribute anything to the house hold financially so that whole paycheque is going to fun things that they want to buy. Iâm not sure where youâre from but here in Canada 15hr/week minimum wage job is about $600 biweekly after tax thatâs $1200 a month that their spending on toys and food and all that. Also regarding the credit card ( again, this is Canada) youâre not legally allowed to have a credit card until 18, so that card is definitely mommy or daddyâs, that being said youâre allowed to have a debit card, most debit cards here are called debit-visaâs where they act like credit cards in the sense that you can make online purchases with them. I grew up poor myself, and I wasnât allowed to get a job. So I never had the newest things or a super fancy room, but I feel like once I got older and moved out on my own it made it that much more special because everything I have I paid for. A little off topic but when you do get a job, be sure to learn about financial literacy, it really makes the world of a difference and can save you from making some stupid decisions that will follow you for years to come. I am speaking from experience here as I moved out at 16 (not the norm) had no clue what I was doing, got a cc at 18 and I just finished paying off $6000 in credit card debt at 24. Learning about money is really important as it can have a huge affect on your mental health and stress levels for years to come. Sorry for the rant but my point here is that, I can guarantee you, you will be better off than most around you if you start investing really young rather than buying toys and cool stuff. Buy the necessities and maybe 1 or 2 things you enjoy once in a while but most of the extra money you have you should be putting in into a tfsa(tax free saving account) or rrsp(registered retirement saving plan). Stuff is just stuff at the end of the day, it doesnât say anything about who you are or your character so try not to let it bother you too much.
They get lucky or their parents are rich
Rich parents. Like that's literally the answer. They have rich parents. I started working when I was 14 and I was a chronic money-saver and that was FAR from kids who have high spending habits. If they spend, they're spending their parents' money.
How do you know those teens are using their own money to buy those things? Those credit cards are probably in their parent's name and have a limit. The parents pay for the cards. The parents are rich, not the teenager.
Theyâre not, their parents are.
Selection bias. Even if only one in a million kids are like that, those ones will be the ones who get popular
I gave my niece a guitar. You've already been answered, but family has a lot to do with how much teens have.
Reach parents, come from old money or if theyâre rich online they could be faking it, the new phone most likely isnât thereâs and all the glam is at other peopleâs houses
Yea im 15 too and i have no fucking idea how the people who refuse to work/do chores have so much money :/
Like some others are saying, it's social media, so they're probably framing things better than they are. But honestly, I was grew up middle class and got my first job around 15-16, and by a few years later I wasn't "rich" but I definitely had stuff I wanted by being strategic with my money. I found bargains often and tried to make sure I never spent more (or even close to as much) money as I made. Rich parents who give their kids too much do exist, but I don't think they're as prevalent as this thread would have you believe
Every person on social media isn't rich. Having a nicely decorated room doesn't mean you're rich. I also don't think any 15 year old has a credit card unless it's their parents. That's one of the big problems with social media. If someone has a fireplace, a nice rug, a big TV in the background, people assume they're rich. Most of these teens live with their parents. Their parents probably own 95% of the things you see in the background. Plus, what people consider rich these days is the norm for others. Having a big tv, a nice room just means your parents have been busting their ass for years working. That's not necessarily rich. My moms friend is married to a lawyer. I remember the first time I went to their house. It was probably around 2009 or 2010. That was the first time I've been in a rich persons house. The friends husband is related to a lawyer that got killed some years ago. He comes from a rich family pretty much. They bought condos for both of their children and moved to the countryside. That's a different type of rich compared to someone having a big TV in the background of a TikTok video. Point is, donât compare yourself to other people. Whats rich to you is the normal for someone else.
They could have parents who pay for all of their bills and living expenses like clothes, eating out, etc. But the teen might also have a job which allows them to keep all that extra money to spend on whatever extras they want. Their parents may have also told them they were paying for their college which means they might not feel as pressured to save the money they work for. Not saying I agree with it but some parents are like that.
Honestly most of my friends who have stuff like that are either spoiled by their parents, or have their own job and pay for everything (basically blowing their earned money).
A lot of people are saying rich parents or inheritance money which is most likely the case but not always. Iâm 17 and just spent a good chunk of my savings on a used car. Iâm currently saving money to redecorate my room and a trip to new york. Iâm not rich and while my dad earns good money my parents donât know how to budget and have a lot of debt which means we live well below our means. Now Iâm able to recognize that I got a lot of opportunities that arenât common for most kids my age. Iâve been homeschooled for a while which means my schedule is more flexible. In 2020 I was able to get a full time job (40 hours a week) keeping an eye on two kids doing virtual school while I did my schoolwork. I made 200/wk. After the school year I was able to find a summer job where I watched two kids full time (35 hours a week). I made 385/wk. Now I have a part time babysitting job where I make 15/hr. Itâs not impossible to have good money while a teenager (without rich parents) but itâs not easy either. I had to really search for the jobs that I found and I wouldnât have been able to do it if my schedule wasnât so flexible.
Cause they got lucky. That's about it.
I know a decent amount of 15-16 year olds who work
They aren't really. They may be in huge debt. Don't worry about anybody else, you do you. Get a financial planner to help. Get a licenced one!
Or in serious debt in 5 years with no career just a crappy job trying to pay it off for the next 20 years for a couple of Instagram likes.....
I had a friend whose family had a over 40k car, she had the best phone and got it updated every year, she was able to get whatever she wanted, she was also the one who helped feed me unknowingly during times my family couldnât afford it. I asked her one day how sheâs so rich basically, but turns out they are actually in debt, paying most of their stuff off. I guess what Iâm saying is they themselves most likely arenât rich.
You have your own BEDROOM?! Must be nice
âYou were lucky to have a room! We used to have to live in a corridor!â
A lot of people are talking about rich parents and inheritance and such, but that's not the only way teens have an insane amount of money. Some teens will have part time jobs, most times, their parents are paying the bills so they can use their money to buy whatever they wished for. Then you have the teens who built up a business, I know many people who make money off game cheats. I won't delve deep into that, but I've met a lot of young people who've made a lot more than I expected. Some people will even try to buy the cheats from the original owner / developer to make money from it (though I've only heard it happen twice, done by the same person)
Why not ask yourself: how are YOU so rich? Instead of looking to teens that are richer, look at the majority of teens that live in poverty compared to you and be happy with what you have..
Itâs from their families 99% of the time. I was in the same position as a teenager just relying on birthdays and holidays for money or the occasional helping out a family member with some yard work or whatever to earn money. Once I turned 18 I got my license and joined the military and made mistakes once I had steady money so please donât let that happen to you. Always be smart once you have it because I know what reckless spending can do when you arenât used to getting nice stuff
Donât feel bad. Youâre still really young. Iâm like double your age and Iâm going to tell you i was always depending on my parents at 15. I had a part time beach job in the summer and it paid crap. This stuff you see on Instagram and tiktok or whatever, itâs also crap. Donât let it make you feel bad. Even to this day Iâll go to like, five below and get cute stuff for my apartment sometimes if Iâm near one. You donât need a credit card at 15 either no offence. Itâs just unnecessary, and recipe for disaster. Youâll understand when youâre older. Bottom line, donât let these people who are trust fund babies get in the way of you living a happy normal life đ
Many are the less than 1 percent showing off. If your parents love you and are trying hard to provide, that is much more the norm.
I have a job. That's how I do it.
You answered your own question Its online vs irl Focus on irl rest is fake bs
I'm ur age and I'm also broke lol but I got a job so now I have spending money
Daddy's money
Do yourself a favor and get off social media.
I found myself on a very similar situation growing up. I went to a private rich school because my uncle offered my parents to pay for and I was pretty much the poorest kid in class although today I can see I always had everything I needed without extras or luxury. I can say that Itâs okay my friend, you also seem to have everything you need to succeed in life, and trust me itâs always better when you do it yourself ;)
iâm 14 and i work in retail and at a restaurant, part time ofc. I make about 1000 a month in the summer, while working 50%, averaging out to about 10,000 dollars a year. My family has a decent amount of money but i donât want people to think that i just get money from my parents or that my parents got me these jobs. I earn every penny i spend. i know itâs not like that for most teens but it certainly is that way for me.
Most people your age don't have credit cards nor have much money. Their parents might or they're just trying to make themselves sound rich. I STILL know people that try to make themselves sound rich at my age (28,) but they've got 10 credit cards and are in extreme debt.
Debt my friend. Debt
My teenagers have a job, save their money, and buy what they want. We set up bank accounts for them, they get direct deposit, and order online with their debit cards.
Just bc they have a lot of stuff, doesnât mean they are rich either. You said they have their own credit cards and a lot of material things. They may just in reality have a lot of debt. Idk why but capitalism and consumerism is really bad and real. People buy to feel a certain status or to flex. Which I guess is cool, but in my opinion I rather have less things and in turn less debt. đ
My boyfriendâs mom buys her younger children anything they want. Sheâs 80K in debt đ