Our parents may be older than us and have lots of experience in life. But that doesn’t mean their financial advice is always right. In exception, some parents know about finance and guide their children in the right direction.
A user asked the forum, “What did your parents teach you about money?” Here are the top responses.
SPEND MONEY ON ALCOHOL AND CIGARETTES
“Spending money on alcohol and cigarettes was a higher priority than food.”
FRUGALITY
“My parents struggled to make ends meet, so most of what I learned was frugality. Keep track of income bills and due dates to determine what needs to be paid first. Paying utility bills on time is important because if they get cut off, you have to pay the bill and a reconnect fee to get them back on.
Eat what’s set before you because if you don’t, you’ll get it cold when you decide you’re hungry later. Pack lunch for work and school. Take a cooler with lunch on road trips because fast food is expensive. Soda pop, potato chips, and ice cream are treats for birthdays only.
Three decent outfits are enough for growing kids if you do laundry on Wednesday and Saturday. Buy simple clothes in solid colors so people won’t notice how few things you have.
Here’s how to balance a checkbook and do a simple tax return. There is no need to pay someone to prepare taxes since it’s just a matter of carefully reading instructions.”
INVEST IN GOOD EDUCATION AND CLOTHES
“Invest in a good education. High-quality items/clothes will last longer. Pay your bills on time.”
SAVE FOR FUTURE
“We never cared about stuff. We had no issues with hand-me-downs and generics. Save for the future.
It’s made them low-end millionaires, although unfortunately, they now live nearly impoverished by choice.”
DO NOT WASTE MONEY OR BUY A NEW CAR
“My parents were children of the Great Depression, war, and postwar chaos. They taught me to put money aside on the payday. Have a rainy day fund so you do not borrow money. Once you have enough stashed away to live for a year or more, learn how to enjoy the fruit of the labor.
Memories with the loved ones are not replaceable. Do not waste money buying a new car; keep the existing one apart. Watch out for spending on non-essential items, and keep your car, appliances, TV, and house in good shape.”
THINK BEFORE YOU DONATE
“Donating is good. But make sure you have your house in order first. You shouldn’t be donating till you have your life in order. If donating keeps you from living the life you want and not having enough money hurts your mental health, you must wait. Get to a sound financial point, then add it as a line item in your budget.”
DON’T NEED TO BUY A HOUSE
“Chances are house prices aren’t going down anytime soon. But you don’t ‘need’ to buy a house. Renting has its advantages, too. You should pay that 8% loan if you get a mortgage today. If you were fortunate enough to get one under 3%, there is no reason to pay it down as fast as possible.”
OPEN A RETIREMENT ACCOUNT
“The only thing that ever got explicitly stressed was to open a retirement account right away when I started working. I only put $50 a month in it for the first few years, but just having it led me to think more about retirement and increasing my contributions significantly a few years ago.”
LOOKS ARE IMPORTANT
“My parents taught me that material possessions and how you look are more important than living with the crippling anxiety of debt. So naturally, I got into massive debt and lived in constant anxiety.
Being in debt taught me a lot about money and how borrowing, debt collectors, and credit scores work. Now I’m debt-free, with an 800+ credit score, a 6-figure savings account, and investments. My parents are still in debt and own nothing but some nice clothes and fancy cars.”
LEARNED WHAT BEING BAD WITH MONEY GETS YOU
“They taught me what being bad with money gets you. I knew what not to do with them. Thankfully, my grandpa led me in the right direction and ensured I knew all the basics of managing your own money and growing credit. I’m so thankful for him.”
DON’T BOUNCE CHECKS
“Nothing other than ‘don’t bounce checks.’ I had no idea what an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) was, what % meant about a loan, what a good loan was, etc. I had to learn all of this the hard way, and I made quite a few bad mistakes that cost me dollars.”
NEVER GAMBLE
“My parents gambled every cent they had at the casinos, then borrowed money to lose at the casino, then lost their house and kept on going to the casino, so my parents taught me never to gamble.”
YOU CAN’T TAKE MONEY WITH YOU
“To make lots of money and spend lots of money. You can’t take it with you; enjoy the finer things in life. You live once; why would you want to live like a poor person.”
PLAN INVESTMENTS CAREFULLY
“Plan any investment carefully, do the calculations ten times, be conservative about the benefits and cautious about the risks.”
NEVER BE FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT ON ANYONE
“Never allow yourself to depend financially on anyone.”
BUILD AN EMERGENCY FUND
“Build an emergency fund and think twice about what constitutes a real emergency.”
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This article was originally published on Mrs. Daaku Studio.