Lucas’s first salary? “In total, 2,000 euros, for a month and a half preparing orders for a supermarket drive-thru, I worked overtime”says the young man, a multimedia technician at a large brand (The witnesses did not want to give their last name). It was the summer he turned 18, in 2019.
“With the money I took my family to a restaurant, an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, $120. My mother helped me get this job: she took me there three times, explaining to me that I had to persist in life, they ended up taking me. And my father got up at 5 o’clock to take me every morning…” He also bought a telephone, which he kept for five years. “I got it for less than 60%, at 600 euros, plus 200 euros for headphones. My parents put in 200.”
Like Lucas, young adults can often talk at length about what they did with their first real paycheck, often a summer job. Nicolas, now 26 years old, bought a computer. Maël also: “I couldn’t see myself asking my mother for 1,500 euros for that, I preferred to do it with my own money. » “I bought an iPhone, I put 1,000 euros in my Livret A and I kept the rest to go out. I was very happy, I said to myself “that’s it, I have money!” »exclaims 21-year-old Camille T. Théo, 26, has saved for his future home.
“Everyone remembers their first salary. When I ask the question in class, my students wake up and share their memories.”confirms sociologist Hélène Ducourant, professor-researcher at the Gustave-Eiffel University. “Money is not spent in the same way depending on its origin: inheritance, first salary, winnings in games of chance, etc. It is not as fungible as economists think, a euro is not a euro. »
“Reward for your work”
Camille D., who is now 19 years old, explains how she distinguishes between the money she earns, with which she buys what she needs, and the money they give her, which she saves. she had planned “for a long time” What would you do with your first salary, received in the summer of 2023 after working in a Parisian museum. “I had this plan in mind: buy a phone and supplies for back to school, set aside half, and share the rest with my parents. » “The first salary is the reward for your work, it gives you value as you enter your adult life”This 19-year-old student continues to believe.
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