When a First Job Becomes a First Bill
I’ve talked before about my first job in high school. Good ol’ Mr. Alan’s.
But more importantly, I’ve talked about how I mishandled the money I earned… and how differently I would move if I had the chance to go back.
Today, I saw something that brought that reflection right back to the surface.
A mother posted a video explaining that her 17-year-old son had just gotten his first job. Because of that, she planned to charge him $500 a month for rent along with his cell phone bill.
Now, the phone bill? I understand that.
But rent… while he’s still in high school? That stopped me in my tracks.
And this isn’t about internet comments asking, “Where is the father?” That conversation is loud, easy, and usually unhelpful.
What matters more is the mindset underneath the decision. Because mindset is often the quiet barrier standing between our communities and generational wealth.
Survival Thinking vs. Wealth Thinking
What if, instead of charging rent, that same $500 became:
Monthly deposits into a high-yield savings account
Starter contributions into an investment portfolio
A real-time lesson in compound growth
Starting at 17 instead of 27 can change an entire financial future.
That difference isn’t small. It’s generational.
And when you zoom out, you start to notice something uncomfortable but necessary:
Many cultures prepare their children to build wealth. Too many of us are forced to prepare our children to help survive the present. One mindset multiplies. The other maintains. Neither comes from evil intentions. But only one leads somewhere new.
The Power of Financial Voices Online
This is also why I’ve grown to appreciate the fullness of the personal finance space on social media.
Yes, people talk about budgeting. Saving. Investing. Trading. Some call it oversaturated. I call it long overdue.
Because every creator comes from a different story:
Different struggles
Different mistakes
Different relationships with money
Yet many of us share the same goal:
To become more knowledgeable, more profitable, and more free. And to bring others with us.
That part matters.
Learning Without a Teacher
Growing up, nobody around me was teaching budgeting, saving, or investing. I learned the hard way:
By bumping my head.
Taking losses.
Struggling longer than I should have.
Experience became my teacher because access never was. But today, the world looks different.
Financial education is now:
A scroll away
A video away
A podcast away
A post away
That doesn’t erase systemic barriers. But it does remove the excuse of total silence. And that shift alone is powerful.
This Isn’t About One Mother
Let’s be clear.
This isn’t an attack on that mother. It’s a reflection on the conditions that shape decisions like hers. Because her story isn’t rare. It’s familiar.
Many households are simply trying to keep the lights on. When a child starts earning, it feels like one more hole can finally be patched.
That’s not greed.
That’s survival.
But the real question is bigger:
How do we break cycles instead of just managing them?
How do we turn first jobs into first investments instead of first bills?
How do we build habits that outlive hardship?
Those are the questions that matter.
And spaces like The Urban Profit exist to help answer them. One honest conversation at a time.
Turning Losses Into Lessons
If sharing my mistakes helps someone avoid repeating them, then every loss I took had purpose. I would rather show you my scars than watch you earn the same ones unnecessarily.
Life will always come with struggle.
That part is guaranteed.
But unnecessary struggle? That’s different. When knowledge is shared, some pain becomes preventable. And leaving breadcrumbs of wisdom for the next person… That’s always a good and noble thing.
