Your mother may have taught you more about managing your finances than you realize. Here's a list of those lessons.
Think Mom didn't teach you anything about money? Maybe you simply weren't paying attention.
1. "Have a place for everything, and everything in its place."
Ever tried to balance your checkbook or pay the bills when you couldn't lay your hands on one all-important piece of paper? And when are those bills due, anyway?
Organization is "very important in your financial life," says Douglas Borkowski, the director of the Financial Counseling Clinic at Iowa State University. When he was growing up, "Mom and Grandma were the ones who kept things organized," he says.
2. "Don't be late."
Mom was probably talking about school, but the rule applies to money, too. "You'd better pay your bills on time," says Les Kotzer, an attorney and a co-author of "The Family War: Winning the Inheritance Battle." Otherwise, you face increased interest rates, late fees and all kinds of financial penalties, including a damaged credit rating.
3. "You can do anything if you set your mind to it."
It's a fact: Set a goal and write it down, and you're much more likely to attain it. (Think of it as jotting down directions to a place you've never visited.) It works the same for financial goals.
When it comes to income, debts and savings, "you have to know how the pieces fit," Borkowski says.
Tell us: What was the best money advice you got from Mom?
4. "Know your own value."
Financial adviser Kathleen Miller gave her daughter the same advice she gives her clients: Make a net-worth statement every year.
On one sheet of paper, tally what comes in and what goes out. Include what you own and what you owe.
It's a great way to take a yearly snapshot of your financial life, says Miller, the head of Miller Advisors, a fee-only financial-planning firm in Kirkland, Wash. And it doesn't require any special math know-how.
Save the sheets from year to year and you have a "financial diary," which is "a real good way to have a very, very quick review," Miller says.
Think Mom didn't teach you anything about money? Maybe you simply weren't paying attention.
1. "Have a place for everything, and everything in its place."
Ever tried to balance your checkbook or pay the bills when you couldn't lay your hands on one all-important piece of paper? And when are those bills due, anyway?
Organization is "very important in your financial life," says Douglas Borkowski, the director of the Financial Counseling Clinic at Iowa State University. When he was growing up, "Mom and Grandma were the ones who kept things organized," he says.
2. "Don't be late."
Mom was probably talking about school, but the rule applies to money, too. "You'd better pay your bills on time," says Les Kotzer, an attorney and a co-author of "The Family War: Winning the Inheritance Battle." Otherwise, you face increased interest rates, late fees and all kinds of financial penalties, including a damaged credit rating.
3. "You can do anything if you set your mind to it."
It's a fact: Set a goal and write it down, and you're much more likely to attain it. (Think of it as jotting down directions to a place you've never visited.) It works the same for financial goals.
When it comes to income, debts and savings, "you have to know how the pieces fit," Borkowski says.
Tell us: What was the best money advice you got from Mom?
4. "Know your own value."
Financial adviser Kathleen Miller gave her daughter the same advice she gives her clients: Make a net-worth statement every year.
On one sheet of paper, tally what comes in and what goes out. Include what you own and what you owe.
It's a great way to take a yearly snapshot of your financial life, says Miller, the head of Miller Advisors, a fee-only financial-planning firm in Kirkland, Wash. And it doesn't require any special math know-how.
Save the sheets from year to year and you have a "financial diary," which is "a real good way to have a very, very quick review," Miller says.
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