Money: What I learned from my parents

Last night was the second FPU class and one of the topics discussed was teaching children about money.

I grew up in a large family that didn't have an excess of money. Though I didn't know it at the time, apparently a lot of people considered us poor. However, we had what we needed and learned to live without a lot of junk. My family rarely ate out. We wore hand-me-downs. When we traveled, we stayed with friends instead of a hotel. Most of my growing-up years, we only had one vehicle. We didn't have many toys. (Feel free to pity me... :-p)

That may all sound very dour, but it wasn't. Rather, I gained a perspective on life and money that I'm beginning to realize is rather abnormal--in a good way. :-) I learned more from my parents than I think they ever realized, and I hope to pass a similar perspective on to my own children.

Beginning tomorrow, I plan to share a series detailing what I learned from my parents and some ideas on teaching your children to be financially responsible.