Of the many things our Mothers teach us, from tying our shoelaces to saying “please” and “thank you”, they also influence how we see finance. Whether it be intentional or just by having their own practises observed, we intrinsically pick up what they’re doing and use it to form our own habits as adults. We asked the office “what has your Mum taught you about money” – below are our team’s responses:
- “My Mum taught me that I have complete control over my finances and whether I choose to live now, suffer later or save now and enjoy later.” – Zoe
- “My Mum is a master saver and always taught me how to be frugal with money, differentiating between what is a ‘want’ and what is a ‘need’. She was also in the military and has taught me to be both organised and regimented, which I think has in-turn positively influenced my ability to budget, track spending and get on top of my finances as an adult.” – Jessica
- “My Mum told me don’t spend more than you earn.” – Matt
- “As a kid, Mum would always say that success always come down to focus, effort and these are the two things we have control over. If you do both of them right in your field of work, money will naturally follow. Money is just a by-product of who you are and what you do. She recently shared this with me. I believe it’s from the book Rich Dad Poor Dad “Rich is measured in dollars and wealth is measured in time. Most people think $1 million is rich but if expenses are $100,000k a month, wealth is only 10 months. How long you can live without working is how wealthy you are. Being wealthy is more important than being rich.” – Andre
- “My Mother taught me to be grateful for the money I make and to take responsibility for how I spend it. I learnt that saving for what I need should always override what I want, as anything extra than necessity is a privilege. Throughout her career she had a large focus on helping others, she demonstrated what it meant to put others first and giving back to those less fortunate.” – Tess
- “My Mum has worked in banks her whole working life, so from a young age she taught us the importance of putting away a little bit of money into our savings account every month, to start earning interest and building a healthy savings account. My Mum is also extremely organised, she keeps track of all her receipts and at the end of every month adds the household spending to a spreadsheet to make sure the family budget is on track. Although I’m not this extreme, I make sure I have a budget and try to stick to a monthly spending limit.” – Thea
- “My Mum always taught me not to compare myself to others. Never look down on anyone who has less than you and never be jealous of someone who has something you don’t. Be grateful for what you do have, work hard and money, success and happiness will follow.” – Michael
- “My Mum taught me the importance of being financially independent. She always emphasised the value of working hard so that I can support myself and not have to rely on anyone else.” – Emma
9. “My Mother taught us the power of budgeting & saving. I learnt from her to invest in property & good education for the kids!” – Pooja
