When kids grow up in a home with a frugal mom and dad, they grow up learning some very valuable life lessons. But is the example set by Mom and Dad really that important? Yes!
Think about it this way. You know how when you were growing up, you assumed that your family was normal, and that however you did things – that must be how everyone else did them?
"All adverse and depressing influences can be overcome,
not by fighting, by by rising above them.”
- Charles C. Colton |
Your family always ate dinner at the table and had dessert in the living room, maybe. Then you’d go to a friend’s house or something, see an entirely different operation - dessert at the dinner table --and you’d think, “Whoa! These guys are really weird!”
That quirk of human nature holds true in almost every regard, including finances.
Your attitudes about money probably very closely resemble the attitudes your parents had when you were growing up, and it’s probably what you consider to be “normal.”
If you had a frugal mom, you’re probably frugal, too. If your parents were always in debt, scrambling to make ends meet ... well, unless you break the cycle, that’s probably where you are as well.
So being a frugal mom is vital to your kids’ development. You’re sending an important message to your children; that money shouldn’t be wasted or thrown away; that you should take it seriously, and that you should be smart about how you spend the money you have worked so hard to earn.
If you’ve managed to get out of debt, then being a frugal mom is sending yet another valuable message to your children. Congrats Mom! Being out of debt is absolutely the way to go!
Your kids will see you living with peace of mind, not worrying about money. Then when they see other families in the opposite situation, they’ll think those people who are spending more than they make, THOSE PEOPLE are the weird ones - even though, statistically speaking, it’s probably YOU, the debt-free family, that’s unusual!
Sometimes being unusual is good!
Parents owe it to their children to teach them everything they can about life. Some things are spelled out specifically, while others are taught more by example.
You can teach your children to be frugal and wise with their money by setting a good example today. Take them shopping with you; show them how banking works, and teach them about comparison shopping.
The good habits you instill in your children now, being the frugal mom or dad that you are, will last a lifetime, and they will undoubtedly thank you for it later!
"There is only one success -
to be able to spend your life in your own way.”
- Christopher Morley |
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Debt is NOT your friend. It's not a wonderful "tool" for building wealth. That's a myth.
