First Piece Of Financial Advice I Remember
Patrick at Cash Money Life asked me (and a number of other bloggers) to tell him or post about the first piece of financial advice they received. I am certain I received financial advice as a child, but frankly, don’t remember any of it at the moment. So I am going to talk about the first piece I remember, which was when I was starting college.
Fittingly enough, the first piece of financial advice I remember was from my dad. When I started college was also when I applied for and received my first credit card, and besides admonishing me to only use the card in an emergency, he told me:
Never carry a balance on a credit card from month to month.
This is advice that I did take to heart for a very very long time. And even when I strayed from his advice, I still heard it in the back of my head telling me to fix the mess I got myself into. I’m not sure exactly when I strayed from it as far as a timeline, although obviously I did, but I am back on track and will, hopefully, never find myself in a position that I will do that again.
Thanks, Dad.
What’s the first piece of financial advice you ever received? Share it with us and let our collective wisdom rule the internet! (Okay, maybe not rule the internet, but wisdom is good. 
)
January 30th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
The first financial advice that I remember was when my Dad was giving me a coin. This was at least 50 years ago when a coin, especially a silver coin was a meaningful amount.
He said: (showing me the coin), Money is made flat so that you can stack ip up (ie save it). But it is also round so that it can roll. When you roll it (ie spend it), make sure it rolls as far as possible (ie get the best value for your money).
January 30th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
It was my dad as well- he said: Own. Never Rent. And i have. I stayed at hoem afetr college until i could afford a palce, then I bought my first house as a single lady of 26, and always had renters!
January 30th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
The first advice I remember was from my grandfather about saving money for my piggy bank versus “wasting money” playing quarter video games. I had just discovered Pac Man and it bugged him.
So he told me to “always save my last quarter for a rainy day.” Sage words.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I’m not sure whether people will consider this financial advice, but it was the first (and only) advice I received about money. My grandmother told me you should give away 10% of what you make (or as much as you could afford) to charity. She described it as a sort of insurance plan with God. You help other people when you can and then God will find ways to help you out when you need it. I haven’t exactly adhered to the 10% (I hope to eventually), but I’ve still found that I’ve always had help when I really needed it.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Mine is exactly the same as yours. My dad told me not to carry a balance on my credit cards. I listened for a long time, but fell off the wagon. It’s time to get back to that though!
January 30th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
I began working for pay when I was 7 by handling all teh filing in my mom’s office while someone was out on sabatical. I did farm labor in the summers from ages 9 – 12; name a berry, I picked it. I then began working at a nursing home full-time in the summers and on weekends during the school year from 13 – 16.
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have a job. No matter how unglamorous the job was, at least I had one. This wasn’t one of those “take notes, dear, I’m going to tell you something important” kind of lessons. It was a lesson of doing.
I also cannot remember a time when I didn’t have a bank account. When I began earning money, my mother opened a joint account with me and helped me learn the power of money. She helped me learn how to budget and prioritize what I spent my money on–a$70 pair of Jordache jeans or a $20 pair of Levi 501s–because whatever money I earned during the summers had to last me until the next summer.
Some people think it was cruel that I was working so young, but I have had a strong work ethic and a better grasp of money matters because of it.
Thanks, Mom.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
I don’t remember the FIRST bit of financial advice (my family didn’t talk about money except to complain that we didn’t have it), but I remember the BEST bit of financial advice that our personal financial advisor has ever given us:
Take a $100 bill and place it in your wallet; you can hide it behind pictures, or your driver’s license or whatever. It doesn’t have to be in the ‘cash’ area. Keep it in there and don’t spend it—in fact, see how long you can keep it in there. See how long it takes you to ‘forget’ about it.
Just the knowledge that it’s there will help your relationship with money. It will help you feel more secure, and eventually, you’ll feel more comfortable with abundance of money as opposed to always feeling anxious about a lack of money.
It has worked for me. It’s definitely a psychological security blanket. It also reminds me a great deal of an emergency fund—-with it, you feel more secure. Without it, you feel anxious and nervous most of the time. At least, I do!
January 30th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
This applies to more than just finances, but the first advice I remember was from my grandfather. He told me to always read everything before signing. I have followed that advice when opening bank accounts, buying cars, houses and more. It has always proven to be excellent advice! You have absolutely got to know and understand what you are signing your name to!
January 30th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
I think one reason I was (and still am) in debt is because the *lack* of financial advice I received early in life. However, I do remember my parents telling me to always give 10% of my money to other people – charities, causes, etc. I think that’s a great idea; I just wish they’d spent as much time warning me about the dangers of credit card debt and the benefits of saving.
January 30th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
My father had a few things he told me, the main one was “It’s only money.”
He meant for me not to take it so seriously. Money is only a means to an end, it isn’t the most important thing in life. Whatever you use money for is more important than the money itself. I.e., if you want or need something of good quality, then spend the money and enjoy having something of good quality for it.
Sometimes he’d add to that, saying, “It’s only money; there’s always more.” He meant that if you wanted more money, you just had to work for it. If you work, you always have a paycheck.
His other saying was “Don’t spend it all in one place.” I love that advice.
January 30th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Same here – my dad signed me up for a credit card and checking account at 16, and taught me how to balance my checkbook and plan ahead to pay the card off each month. He co-signed the card of course, because I was still a minor.
Thanks, Dad! In addition to financial sense, I’ve also got a killer credit score. Not many 25 year olds have nearly a decade of good credit history…
I plan to get our kids started with a checking account, credit card and j-o-b at 16, as well. Nothing too intense, but I strongly feel that young adults need to flex their earning and spending muscles early in life.
January 30th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Oh yeah… my parents also helped me open an IRA at 16. I wasn’t very excited at the time, but it gave me a great boost towards retirement. It doesn’t take much each month ($25-$100) to add up quickly.
January 30th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
The best financial advice my mother gave me is not obviously financial at all. Being a young widow with no education, she drilled the idea that education is important into my skull. She said that they can take your house, your car, your money, but they can never take your education. Not that I make a ton of money as a teacher, but I know I can always rely on my degrees to look for other work if I really need it.
January 30th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Sadly, I don’t remember ever receiving any advice about money. We were raised financially comfortable, where, for example, I never had to decide between clothes I might be trying on at a shop–all would be purchased. It took a lot of pain, and reading on my own to learn difficult financial lessons.
My kids know where money comes from (work), to keep track of what you spend, that there’s a limit, that saving for the future is imperative, and that money does not buy happiness. Hard won lessons.
BTW, one of the first lessons for them was a fun demonstration of compound interest!
January 30th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
My mom was chock full of financial advice when I was growing up. For that matter, she still is now that I’m in my mid twenties. I think the first advice she gave me was when I got my first paycheck from my first job at the local pizza joint. She took me to set up a checking and savings account and told me I should but 25% of each paycheck into savings “just in case”. At the time I was annoyed that she was cutting into my spending money, but now I’m glad to have the importance of saving ingrained in me.
January 30th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I remember getting an allowance when I was little. I had to ask what to do with the leftover at the end of the week, I didn’t have any idea. And the advice I got was to save up for something if I wanted it. They provided the basics, most of the rest was up to me.
I also remember someone reading my palm when I was in college. She said that money would stick to me.
Fortunately, it turns out that she was right. I think I’m the tightest one in the family, when it comes to parting with a buck.
January 30th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Are you my sister? That’s what my dad said–and did–too: don’t put it on your credit card unless you can pay for it in cash. My mom only used the checkbook, and we’d watch her sit at the table and balance it faithfully, so we understood the concept that there wasn’t always more money there.
Sadly, I strayed a couple of months ago, but right now am working my way back. I actually have money in savings that I could pay it back today if I wanted, but I decided that I need to punish myself or I won’t learn. Looking at the finance charge does motivate me to not spend as much, so I can pay it back faster. (It’s happened before where I’ve spent more than I should, and just took the money from savings, but I never worked to replace that money before, so I need the extra pain for motivation.)
January 30th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
First peace of financial advice I can possibly remember and it was pretty slim was “Spend it wisely.” This was written on the inside of birthday card with money in it from my father.
“Spend,” that word is what has gotten some of us into the mess we are in. One word can bring such joy and such sorrow. Beyond that any financial advice given to me was via me. I did so well all the way through until the last year of college where I am met my wife. I was the nerd about money, she is the free spirit. We did “spend.” We spent ourselves silly and now here we are spending our way out of debt.
January 30th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Thanks for sharing, PaidTwice. I’m sure your dad would be proud of the progress you have made.
January 30th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
I don’t remember any kind of financial advice from my parents. I really don’t. I do remember after I got married someone told me that we should live on one income and put the other in the bank. How I wished I’d listened, but I didn’t! We wasted so much money on eating out and things when we were younger.
We are making sure that we are talking with our children about money. Our oldest is in college and he already made himself a budget that he lives on. He pays his bills, put some in savings, tithes, and is very careful with his spending.
January 30th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
from my mom “it’s not a bargain if you can’t afford to pay the bill when it comes”
January 31st, 2009 at 12:19 am
The first piece of financial advice I ever received was from my parents. They encouraged me to make my own money so I would NEVER have to rely on someone else. I started working at a young age and then worked full-time while working on my degree in college. Looking back I have no idea how I managed that. I did very well for a while until the ‘campus credit card raiders’ showed up. I shortly had signed up for 5 or 6 credit cards that I easily maxed out and did so rather quickly.
Needless to say, I found myself in serious debt (at least for my age) so I turned to my parents for help and advice. The shame I felt when I told them what was going on was enough to make me change my ways. My dad cosigned a loan that I used to pay the debt off. I stayed away from credit cards for a very long time (about 8 years). Now I’m slowly finding myself back where I don’t belong. But, the sacrifice will surely payoff once my company and the economy improves.
January 31st, 2009 at 10:41 am
We had to save half of what we received as gifts, and half of our working income from odd jobs. And we gave at church. Forced savings was a good thing to instill in us from such a young age!
January 31st, 2009 at 11:25 am
I forget who mine was from, but it was always spend less than you earn. Simple, but still sometimes hard to follow.
January 31st, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Just asked my 21 year old what she remembered as a first lesson: “Be careful about signing up for credit cards”. She, too, was the victim of “campus credit card raiders”, but with a minor intervention from us, canceled the card before anything was charged. My other one lusts after a credit card, but so far…..(she knows we wouldn’t/couldn’t bail her out).
We have a little [a lot] of the Scots in us. We joke about an old saying ’bout Scotsmen: they have deep pockets and short arms
January 31st, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Ahhh, the campus credit card raiders. I remember them. I filled out an application for one card, and I received six. SIX. From the same credit card company. And of course, to get through to a service rep., you actually had to active the card to access their “support” systems.
It paid off for me though. I called mom and asked her what I should do. The six cards were for higher limits and lower interest rates than my existing card, so I used that to negotiate the terms on my existing card, then cancelled the six and petitioned to have them removed from my credit history due to the predatory tactics used by the card company and raiders. Thanks (again), mom.
February 1st, 2009 at 3:08 pm
One bit of advice I learned from my parents is “If you can’t pay for it today, you can’t pay for it when you get the bill in 30 days”. Basically, just the usual stuff – don’t use credit cards, don’t keep up with the Jones’s, say NO to home equity lines, etc. Their advice worked — no debt for us beyond a small mortgage and one vehicle payment. After all, stuff is just stuff and it really doesn’t matter.
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:40 am
My first piece of financial wisdom came from my mother – a single woman who raised two children with very little earnings. The secret of her success was strict budgeting and she taught me how to create and maintain my own budget when I first started working. She also taught me all about “Snow Flaking” and “Snow balling” debt. Those weren’t the terms she used, but the process was the exact same. Over twenty years later, her advice holds up every bit as strong today as it did then. It’s quite impressive when I think about it b/c she was never taught those things herself – She devised them out of necessity. She was way ahead of her time.
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:45 am
“Save your money and buy a farm.” Grandma C.
I never had the faintest idea what she was talking about but she wrote that in every single card that came to us with money in it (sometimes a $5, sometimes a $20 as we got older).
We used to joke about it because nobody in my family farms or owned a farm in the last century so it was an odd duck comment. But the reality of it, as I got older, is that it was my grandmother’s way of encouraging us to save and know what we were saving for. She and my Grandfather lived frugally and happily on a civil servant’s wage and managed their retirement and long term care arrangements so gracefully that they are an inspiration to all of us.
At 36, I’m going to finally try to buy my first house soon and I have already decided that I will call it the Farm.
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:34 pm
It had to be, “Money doesn’t grow on trees”.
With “if you can’t pay cash, you can’t afford it” have kept me from too much spending without thought.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:04 am
“Get an education so you can support yourself in case you’re ever divorced or widowed.”
When I was growing up, it was assumed that a woman would be supported by a man, and since it was “his” money, he would take care of personal finance issues. My parents taught me about money more by example than by direct instruction. They lived frugally and saved assiduously so my father could retire as early as possible.
February 7th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
I don’t think I ever received much financial advice from my parents, at least not that I remember. All of my financial knowledge comes from a class in high school and the internet. Luckily, that’s been enough to keep me out of debt.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:53 am
The first advice I remember was a grade 10 course I took. I can’t remember what it was called, something like CareerBridge. You drew up resumes and cover letters, practiced interview questions. But the teacher said to start investing now. I was 15 years old. He said we should invest now and it would compound and amount to a lot of money by the time we’re 65. I wish I had followed his advice. I’m now 27 and have precisely $14 invested for retirement.