Chris Phelan
A person’s first paycheck is a landmark moment in their lives. For the first time, you can buy whatever you want with the money you physically earn! It’s an exciting time, for sure. Recently, people revealed what they bought with their first paycheck. From sensible purchases to impulsive ones, here are the best of the best!
1. Treated Family to Dinner
Some kids have the biggest hearts, don’t they? Countless people recall admirably spending their first paycheck treating their family to dinner. Whether it was fast food or an upscale meal, these people were more than happy to repay their families for years of support. I’m sure these children grew up to be outstanding adults; they seemed to have the basics down!
2. A New Television
Entertainment (specifically television) has been all the rage for as long as I can remember. Therefore, it’s completely understandable why so many of us spend our hard-earned cash on our own television. I vividly remember spending $200 on a small, 13-inch television that I kept in my bedroom. I bought it with my paper route money, and to this day, I still think an 11-year-old with a TV in their bedroom is the coolest thing ever!
3. The Latest Video Game Console
Whether it’s Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Sony, or Microsoft consoles, the desire to own the latest and greatest video game system is a feeling that every generation has felt. For many kids, the only possible purchase they could make with their first paycheck is a video game console! In their eyes, console ownership opened doors to entire worlds of adventure and excitement (much to the dismay of their parents).
4. A Lego Set
The best way to spend your money as a young person is to buy the best toys you could possibly find! One man recalls buying his dream Lego set after weeks of saving. “My family owned a construction business, and my father had me on site for as long as I could remember,” he explains. “I remember the first thing I set out to buy and had to work for weeks to get the money for. It was a Lego castle set. $49. I’m almost 50 now, and I still have it.”
5. Cool Shoes
As someone who grew up with hand-me-down shoes, I will forever be jealous of anyone who bought cool shoes with their first paycheck! “I was 14 and got a job as a bus boy at a local BBQ joint,” explains one man. “With my first check, I went and bought myself a pair of blue and brown Airwalk shoes. I remember how cool it felt to be able to buy something for myself and not have to ask my parents.” The feeling of being finally untethered from our parents is something we all held dear growing up, wasn’t it?
6. Lots of Records
For hardcore music fans growing up in the 60s and 70s, there was only one logical move to make with your first paycheck: Blow it all on records! Countless music lovers recall rushing to their local record store and going on a mini-shopping spree while experiencing the thrill of buying literally whatever they wanted. For many, this was just another step in becoming wholly entrenched in the music scene.
7. Comic Books and Collectibles
The comic book nerd inside us is jealous of those who worked at a hobby shop and spent entire paychecks there, too! For anyone who grew up obsessed with comics, spending your paycheck at a comic book store was a no-brainer. “I worked at a comic book store, so I pretty much just gave my paychecks back and bought the books or collectible stuff that I wanted,” confesses one man. Remember when life was that simple?
8. Baseball Cards
Many millennials and Gen-Zers don’t understand how obsessed older generations were with baseball cards. For millions of kids, teenagers, and adults, nothing will ever beat the thrill of ripping open a pack of cards, hoping to find a limited-edition card of one of your favorite ballplayers. Predictably, those who grew up in that era frequently spent their first paychecks on as many packs as possible, much to the delight of the hobby shop owner who loved capitalizing on the prevailing trend of its era!
9. Groceries
Much like buying your family dinner, spending your first paycheck on groceries for your family is one of the most heartwarming things you can do. One woman realized that her family needed her more than she initially thought: “I saw that my mom was struggling, and I didn’t need anything special, so I bought some groceries for the house,” she remembers.
10. A Guitar
Growing up, I agonized over whether to spend my first paycheck on that aforementioned TV for my bedroom or an acoustic guitar. Of course, I ultimately decided on the television, but to this day, I still wonder how big of a rock star I would be if I bit the bullet and purchased a guitar instead. I’d probably be touring the world, rocking out to millions of fans instead of frantically typing away on a computer.
Source: Reddit.
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