Don’t miss the personal finance lessons that come when you least expect it
We learn constantly from our parents, even when we don’t know we’re learning. Understanding the concept behind the personal finance lessons when they come will go a long way to financial freedom when you know the vocabulary to go with it.
Today’s essay is by Alexis Faz Montoya, a student at the Texas Woman’s University. She shares how her father taught her about personal finance before she knew what that meant.
Check out Alexis’ story and please share on social media. The most-shared essay on how parents can teach their kids about money will win one of our two $500 personal finance scholarships, announced August 31st!
Financial Lessons from My Parents
Growing up, my parents did not specifically or directly teach me about personal finance. They did however, give me certain life lessons which I can now understand using some financial terms to describe them.
One thing that my parents always told me was to never use up money that I did not even have, meaning to not waste any money I had at the moment before I even received my next pay check. They taught me that along with not spending more money than what I make.
Now I can understand that to be called budgeting. I have learned to set a monthly or even in some cases or weekly budget.
When I was younger, my dad would give me fifteen to twenty dollars to use for a period of about three weeks. He always told me to not use up all of the money he had given me, because we did not know if he would be able to give me as much for the next three weeks.
How My Parents Taught Me About Saving
Now I can use that lesson to set a monthly budget and make it my goal to not go over that budget before my next paycheck. This then leads to them also teaching me about savings.
I was also taught to put some money aside to save up for an emergency or something very important. When I did not go over my budget I set, and had some money left over, I would go ahead and put that money to the side and start my own savings. Now I know that if I save money, I will have something to lean on if I have to pay any bills or something important if for some reason went over my budget one or two months.
I was taught a saying that goes like, “Wealthy people live their lives like they are poor, and the poor live their lives like they are rich.”
Living Cheaply to Be Financially Wealthy
My parents told me to not live like I am the wealthiest, because then I will never have any savings or every build up my wealth. They also taught me that I should always think about my needs like any kind of bills and once I have set aside that money for any bills, then I can save or use some of the extra money that I have left over for myself.
Overall, my parents taught me the benefits of budgeting and savings and most of our financial lessons have revolved around those two main lessons. I hope to be able to use these skills and lessons I have acquired over my life about personal finance, and us them all through my college career. I also believe I will be successful with these lessons and make smart decisions when it comes to making financial decisions.
I want to thank Alexis for her story about how she learned personal finance lessons from her parents. Be sure to support Alexis by sharing the article through social media and check in August for the winner of the personal finance scholarship.