5 Money Lessons Learned — Early Life

My parents worked hard through their working years but were never financially educated. So I didn’t have a great relationship with money growing up, but that’s not to say, that looking back I didn’t learn anything.

Here are 5 money lessons I learned from ages 0–20.

Money Lesson 1

$20 is a lot of money. I was lucky that my mum didn’t have to work weekends, and since we lived in the center of the city there was a large mall located just one short bus ride away. My mum would take my big sis and I to the mall on Saturday, every few weeks. We’d walk about 10 minutes through Chinatown to the #2 bus stop and get there without any connections. And on the odd occasion if we were adventurous and if the weather were warm we’d take the 34 minute walk instead. Which turned out to be more like an hour as we played in the fountains, dodged sidewalk grid vents and took numerous breaks.

The budget for each one of these trips was always $20, and that has stuck with me to today. $20 Is a lot of money. For instance when I look to make purchases from clothes, to toiletries, to food, and entertainment I consider anything over $20, “expensive”. The $20 rule.

Money Lesson 2

Do what you can to ensure things last a lifetime. Spend a little more on quality goods, always take care of what you buy, and things will last a long, long time. My dad bought a German vehicle, a brand new 1987 Volkswagen Jetta GL Wolfsburg edition as our first family car. He spent nearly as much on the car as my family spent on the house. He took very good care of it, washing and waxing it weekly, touching up any scratches and taking it to the shop for any required service. It lasted us 15 years and was still going strong until a truck had backed over it and it was written off. Upon its demise, it had minimal rust, was fairly reliable, and cheap to maintain — a loss to our family.

My family would carry the same mindset for everything they purchased whether it be furniture, watches, cookware, anything. They’d take really care of it, for example my mum purchased a quality wooden frame leather couch in which she would clean and condition the leather every month and (try her best to) make sure my big sis and I wouldn’t abuse it.

Alright, so lesson time. Take care of everything that means something to you in life, whether it be relationships with your loved ones or that watch or car and they’ll last a lifetime.

Money Lesson 3

Always get a deal. Before buying groceries or necessities for the home my parents would always wait for the weekly news print flyers that advertised the sales of the week at each store. Meal decisions were always centered around what was on sale for the week and if there was a really good deal our chest freezer and storage area of the home would be packed for later use.

When I was growing up and getting my own room in the house my dad would negotiate with the furniture sales person at multiple stores in our house’s proximity to get a better deal if more items were purchased together (i.e. bed, dresser, mattress). In the 80’s that worked, as it still may work today. In the end, the lesson learned was to never pay full price.

Money Lesson 4

Be handy, build and create. My parents were resourceful, they’d always try to fix what was broken through curiosity, learning, and observation of professionals before hiring help. My dad worked in a restaurant who had plumbers visit to perform repairs. He would always ask questions and take notes as they did their work. With these learnings my dad sweated copper pies, unclogged drains, and fixed leaky faucets at home. My dad would even fix some of my favorite toys that I “accidentally” broke.

Growing up we’d rarely go out to restaurants to eat as my mum (and dad) were fantastic chefs. They’d create wonderful meals. We’d only get take out on our birthdays, usually Pizza Hut and a DQ ice cream cake. So, money lesson 4 — be resourceful, be handy, build, and create whenever possible.

Money Lesson 5

Stash money away for a rainy day. My parents lived in a very modest 3 bedroom home, it was old, really old. Linoleum floors, shaggy blue carpet, oil fueled central heat, and a spooky basement. Back then, my dad would be paid in cash weekly and when he got this envelope filled with his earnings he would ‘budget’. A small portion of funds in the envelope would be carefully removed and placed into another envelope and stashed under the mattress in their bedroom. The remainder would be used to pay bills and for day to day expenses like groceries.

One day when the house inevitably required a new roof my dad tapped into the ‘under the mattress fund’. Even though my parents were never taught to have an emergency fund, they did so through intuition. Stash money away for a rainy day.

Summary

I hope these lessons help you in your journey to financial freedom. We know FI to be “Financial Independence”, but a key driver in becoming financially independent is another FI, “Financial Intelligence”. We will grow and learn together. Add any money lessons you learned in your childhood to the comments below and if you liked this read follow, and applaud for more Money, Life, FIRE, and Career posts.