Money, respecting it, and your parents

Well this was going to be a post about rich kids, but during writing, my tone, and feeling changed more towards my own life, and my parents and how they helped me, by bringing me up to respect money, and what I have and how I have gotten it. The rest I will leave as it was written, as I thought about it, and how the words just hit they keys. to see the change in mood and thought, and how I began to realise how lucky I really am to have the family I have, and what I have been taking for granted for so many years....

I for one, come from a family which I wouldn't say was too well off, both my parents worked near enough dead end jobs to make ends meet, they scrimped and saved to give all three of us the best they could, and in my opinion, they did it perfectly well.
I have been brought up to see money as a privilage, not a right. Which is true down to the letter.
We were always told if we wanted something to wait untill birthdays or christmas, which when I was younger, I thought was terribly cruel, why would your parents make you wait for something you wanted so badly, you almost needed?
Well at the still young and tender age of 22, I thank my parents greatfully!
I myself have now been working for nine years, I started my first job at the age of thirteen, just doing a paper round, and as much as I hated the job itself, I loved the benefits it reeked.
I could now save my wages and buy that new game I wanted, or go out and see friends and go to the cinema without having to go and beg my parents to give me "just £5" I could just go out and spend.
So from that age I learnt more about money and its uses and how much things actually cost and how hard people had to actually work for what they had, or did they have to work?
I still walk around to this day, and most likely for many years to come, not looking down on people without money, but actually down on young people whose parents have money, for the one reason, these kids will never learn the true value of money!
They have new cars bought for them, designer clothes, the best phones, televisions, laptops and the list could go on, because they do nothing more than ask mum and dad.
I have to admit, I may still live at home with my parents, and yes I do pay rent, and also pay the full bill for the internet, but I love to look back and see what I actually have and what I can show for my achievements to what I have done.
This computer I am blogging on, I bought every part myself, also assembled it and installed windows myself, the 42" tv I use as a monitor, I bought myself, but I will admit, at times I did have help from my parents, but only help, not hand outs.

My first car, my parents were great to all three of their children, there was no obligation to do this, but out of the goodness of their own hearts, they made a deal.
We pay for ourselves to learn to drive, we book and pay for our tests, and we buy our first cars, but they would help get us on the road with paying for the most expensive part, the first year of insurance.
Now this was help, and a bloody good needed bit of help too, the freedom of the car meant better jobs further away from home, hell they even gave me as a joint christmas and birthday present a sum of money that helped towards a brand new car that I lusted over for two years, and with that help I can now drive around in a car that I know I am paying for each month and I have GREAT satisfaction in knowing, although I had help, im doing the rest on my own.
So I appreciate the car, and what it is worth so much more than some one having their parents pay for the lot from the car, to insuring it, to even putting fuel in the tank.
On top of that, the way I see all of this help from my parents, not only do I have great ambition to go out and do well in the world and my field of jobs to give myself a greater and brighter future, I would love to someday, walk into my parents house and give them a sum of money as a repayment to say thank you for all their hard work and effort they put into raising me, my brother and sister.

So for any body who has a "bad life" look back at what you have, how you have gotten it, and think. Can you sit back in your chair, or go to sleep at night knowing, no matter how hard it still is, or has been, are you satisfied with what you have and how you have gotten it, and where were your parents through it all, were they giving you all handouts, were they helping you, or were they just merely sitting back and watching you make the same mistakes they made?