My First Accountant

I was fourteen when I first started working, and I quickly learned about the challenges of balancing my new earning power with the desire to just be a teenager and enjoy life. I felt slightly left out when the rest of the family would go to a movie or out to eat when I was working, but I also enjoyed being able to go out with friends and buy clothes or music that I wanted.

It was during this time, when I first started working, that I began to get an early glimpse into the principles of cost accounting. My mother volunteered herself, as mother's often do, to be my accountant and provide financial counseling, even though I hadn't hired her, or even asked her, to do so. I wanted to buy stuff and spend money as I got it, but she wanted me to save it over time to do something productive with it.

Of all the homespun advice she offered, some practical, some humorous, what I remember most is how she would analyze the true cost of things. I wanted to go to a week of camp one summer, so we talked about the cost. I thought I could afford the tuition for the week, but she said there was more to consider. If I rode with friends to the camp, I'd have to share the cost of gas, and I'd have to buy meals along the way. If I wanted a new ball glove for camp, or new hiking shoes, I'd have that cost to consider.

As the price tag mounted for my simple week of camp, my mom delivered the final blow. I was, after all, only a part-time employee, and I didn't get vacation time through work. If I wanted to take a week off work, then that would translate to lost wages for me. Had I thought about how much money I would be forfeiting by missing a week of work?

I'll leave it for you to guess whether I went to camp that summer or not, but the cost analysis my mother stepped me through has stuck with me. Very little in life costs only the sticker price. There is always the supplemental cost of upgrades or modifications, the ongoing cost of maintenance, and the opportunity cost of choices not made.

Even though my brother and I occasionally enjoy teasing mom about her labored analysis of our spending when we were growing up, the reality is that these principles of cost accounting are timeless, and they are good lessons for a teenager to learn. Looking back after all these years, I guess I have to admit that mom was pretty smart, after all.

Light it up...

Rob