The most enduring lesson I ever learned about the economy came in the 70s, when I held down an after-school job as a cashier at a convenience store.

Located across the street from a busy private airport and adjacent to a mobile home park, the store had a diverse economic clientele.

Airline personnel -- who still made good money at the time -- came over daily to buy lunch or an early dinner. On other occasions, the owners of private planes that flew out of the airport would come in for cigarettes, a soda or a quick bite to eat.

Moms with little means and multiple kids also shopped at the store. Some even bought all their groceries and staples there, because they didn't have cars to get to the supermarket where prices were more reasonable. The owner of the place extended credit, which made it even more attractive to these women whose husbands were paid weekly.

I was going steady with the son of the owner, which was probably why I felt sufficiently empowered to right what I saw at the time as an economic injustice. When ringing up their purchases, I would simply bag some of their items without charging.

I never told the customers what I was doing and I don’t think any of them ever caught on. I never told my boyfriend either.

I knew the margin on all the products in the store because I had to unpack, price and sometimes dust the cans of Campbell Soup (CPB) and Del Monte (DLM) tomato sauce, tubes of Colgate (CL) toothpaste and bars of Ivory soap from Procter & Gamble (PG).

With vivid recall, I still peg the start of the era’s economic malaise to the day the price of Wonder Bread hit $0.55 a loaf.

But I didn’t feel guilty about my little effort to restore economic balance. I knew the store's real gold mine was the deli in the back that cranked out sandwiches, coffee and prepared foods.

I don’t know how I'll tell my daughter this story. Cheating an employer isn't exactly in keeping with the kinds of values I want to pass along.

My experience with the impact of circumstance and choice definitely fueled my desire to help launch Minyanland as a tool to teach basic economic principles to kids.

It also reinforces for me the value of teenage employment. There’s nothing like a dose of the real world to motivate you toward something better. It’s been roughly 35 years since I worked at that store and I still remember it like yesterday.

How did your early work experiences shape you? Weigh in on The Exchange.