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Many people go through life not knowing why they never earn more money, why they can never save money, and why their money does not grow. They often attribute the success of others to “luck” but in reality, there is a lot to learn about money.
Many of us were not educated enough about money by our parents, and this is why it is so important as parents to understand money, so we can teach our kids about money. I do recall my parents teaching me some simple lessons about money. Some of these have stuck with me forever, such as:
- Tithing as a lifestyle. They would give me money to give at church, so I would learn the practice of giving. Today, as I have learned more, I fully embrace tithing.
- Never walk by a penny on the ground. “A penny isn’t just a penny, it’s interest on a dollar”
- The importance of saving (didn’t everyone have a piggy bank?)
- Always pay yourself first (put it in savings).
- Budgeting. We got an allowance and had to buy things we wanted out of it.
- Don’t think you need to spend more just because you earn more.
- Money has a personality.
- Don’t get sucked into using credit cards.
I am thankful for what my parents taught me from a young age. The challenge is that we we grow into adulthood, we need to learn more advanced financial strategies that may not have come up when we were younger such as:
- How business finances are different from personal finances.
- Estate planning (Wills, trusts, etc.)
- The need for – and different types of – insurance.
- How to invest for the long haul.
- How to purchase – or invest in – real estate.
Some people come from families where “adult” finance topics are discussed. I am not one of them. I had to learn much of what I know about grown up finances on my own, and very often the hard way. Sometimes really hard. In fact, had I known just 10 years ago, what I know now about personal finances, my net worth would be roughly $500,000 larger than it is right now and I would not have any debts. Had I learned what I know 20 years ago, I would be retired.
The bottom line is that we need to start teaching the next generating about money as soon as possible using terms and tools that they can understand. I know many banks have great resources for helping teach kids about money.
As adults, we need to pick up where our learning about money stopped as a child, and take responsibility for growing our money, building wealth, and planning for retirement. That’s really the essence of this blog; to serve a a guide for people on their personal financial journey.
What about you? What did you learn about finances as a child? And who taught you?
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