A couple of things stand out for me. Don’t look for handouts, if you want something save for it. Probably the thing that had the biggest impact was when I was a teenager. My dad died very unexpectedly. He took care of the household finances while my mom had no interest. She was content with raising the kids and maintaining the house. When he died she had absolutely no clue about anything or where to find it. I remember helping her going through drawers looking for statements, insurance policies, etc. I found out he hadn’t paid taxes for that year so had to scramble to find all the necessary documents. It caused my mom so much stress on top of dealing with his death. I know they were a different generation in how they thought of their roles but I resolved myself that whenever I got married there would be complete clarity on all aspects of our finances.
My Mom was great with money. Three things stand out. First, living through the depression she always had to have a nice stash of cash. So even though she didn’t call it that, she always had a hefty emergency fund. Second, while she always was a saver she also said to “enjoy it, but spend it well”. Third, I remember her saying whatever you spend on education can’t be taken away from you.
My folks taught me more by example than lecturing. Two major things I learned from them: the difference between price and value, and pay yourself first.
My parents grew up during the Depression. My dad served in WWII and the Korean War, although he didn’t have to go overseas during the Korean War, probably because he had 5 kids under the age of 5 (one set of twins). I was the youngest of 5. He finished his PhD in veterinary medicine by the time I was 6. The only time I saw him relax was watching westerns (big in the 60s) on Saturday and Sunday nights.
Dad was big on self-improvement and increasing your value. He talked about the knowledge and skills you accumulate over your life and how that increased your human capital. I never heard about human capital prior to my dad bringing it up, but it intrigued me to think about my earning potential.
He encouraged me to live below my means and to save. He told me several times (when I was in my 20s & 30s) to increase my savings when I got a raise, because ‘you got along just fine before, without the raise’.
My dad was in clinical research during his earlier years. So, he spent a lot of time experimenting and going through the process of trial and error. He used to say, ‘The only time you fail is when you give up trying.’ This attitude helped me in my personal life and my career.
Lastly, I learned to have a good work ethic from my dad. He used to say “The harder I work, the luckier I get”.
A couple of things stand out for me. Don’t look for handouts, if you want something save for it. Probably the thing that had the biggest impact was when I was a teenager. My dad died very unexpectedly. He took care of the household finances while my mom had no interest. She was content with raising the kids and maintaining the house. When he died she had absolutely no clue about anything or where to find it. I remember helping her going through drawers looking for statements, insurance policies, etc. I found out he hadn’t paid taxes for that year so had to scramble to find all the necessary documents. It caused my mom so much stress on top of dealing with his death. I know they were a different generation in how they thought of their roles but I resolved myself that whenever I got married there would be complete clarity on all aspects of our finances.
My Mom was great with money. Three things stand out. First, living through the depression she always had to have a nice stash of cash. So even though she didn’t call it that, she always had a hefty emergency fund. Second, while she always was a saver she also said to “enjoy it, but spend it well”. Third, I remember her saying whatever you spend on education can’t be taken away from you.
My folks taught me more by example than lecturing. Two major things I learned from them: the difference between price and value, and pay yourself first.
Avoid multi-level-marketing schemes.
My parents grew up during the Depression. My dad served in WWII and the Korean War, although he didn’t have to go overseas during the Korean War, probably because he had 5 kids under the age of 5 (one set of twins). I was the youngest of 5. He finished his PhD in veterinary medicine by the time I was 6. The only time I saw him relax was watching westerns (big in the 60s) on Saturday and Sunday nights.
Dad was big on self-improvement and increasing your value. He talked about the knowledge and skills you accumulate over your life and how that increased your human capital. I never heard about human capital prior to my dad bringing it up, but it intrigued me to think about my earning potential.
He encouraged me to live below my means and to save. He told me several times (when I was in my 20s & 30s) to increase my savings when I got a raise, because ‘you got along just fine before, without the raise’.
My dad was in clinical research during his earlier years. So, he spent a lot of time experimenting and going through the process of trial and error. He used to say, ‘The only time you fail is when you give up trying.’ This attitude helped me in my personal life and my career.
Lastly, I learned to have a good work ethic from my dad. He used to say “The harder I work, the luckier I get”.