WomenCo.

I read your article and there you sparked memories of my grand -dad. He grew up not having an education but on the streets where he did menial labour he knew he did not wanted alife of poverty. He saved and saved until he had enough to purchase a plot of land, from which he was able to plant and reap crops for the market and the family. Later he decided that he needed something more, a tractor to till the soil .Yes, he saved again and bought himself a tractor. He has made many rural farmers lives better with the purchase of a tractor in that they did not have to resort to manual tilling of the soil any more . His determination was also a motivating factor to his fellow farmers.
Today, when I struggle to balance my monthly budget, I always reflect on the fact that my grand-dad did it so I can do it also.

It was very interesting to me to understand American consumerism and its toll on the average consumer. I come from a traditional Asian upbring and as a result, I am extremely good at managing my money. Though I am young and have never made more than hourly wage from internships, I actually take pleasure in checking my online statement and seeing my account accumulate, or at least stay the same. I do spend, but I always weigh pro and cons for almost every purchase. My parents and I are first generation immigrants, so saving is what helped us build our financial stability from almost nothing. I always read how people in US buy everything on credit, with interest rates, but I never really understood the psych behind it. Because to me, it's just a horrible idea to spend when you can't afford it... I just don't know how they can do it when they aren't sure how they'll pay for it... So your story gave a personal tone to the figures and facts I've been reading over the years about consumerism and overspending, personal debt and such.

Informative and interesting article. My grandmother, who had her own business (somewhat rare in her time, but she lost her husband quite young) was the one who taught me the real money lessons. She taught to fill out a deposit slip and insisted that I have a savings account. I think I may have been six at the time. She taught me different coins when I was about 4. She had me put a coin under a sheet of paper and then take a pencil and color over it. I had a hard time understanding why a dime was worth more than a nickel or penny and she explained the different metals to me. I know that she didn't do this with my brothers. I think she thought it was especially important for a young girl. She also taught me about paying bills, and the different parts of a check, and a little bit about budgeting. Her philosphy, pay bills first, put some in savings, some to charitable, and keep some for expenses. Having lived through the depression (when she lost her husband), she wasn't one to spend on unnecessary items. She had many beautiful things, but a lot of them were gifts from her husband. My parents went through turbulent times, but we always have a roof over our heads and food in our stomach. My husband and I were married when we were still quite young. Our first installment purchase was a TV and our second was a car. These were the only bills besides rent and utilities that we had until the children came along. After we bought our washing machine, it became easier and easier to buy and buy and soon we needed a consolidation loan to pay off our credit cards. We were really lucky to get a loan officer, who explained to us that many people get a consolidation loan to pay off credit cards and installment debt, and then go out and get themselves into even more debt. Both my husband and I knew that that was in the back of our minds, so we discussed it and decided that even though it would be difficult, we would pay off our credit cards and loans without the consolidation loan. And, we also put some little bit aside, so that if an emergency came up, we didn't go into more debt. It was one of the best lessons we learned. My husband was a much better saver than myself, so he handled the money, and now we have a retirement nest egg. Thanks so much for your article.

Thanks for sharing Madeleine. My childhood experiences with finances are not any better. It is important to teach children the value of money and what they can do with it and what they can acheive without spending it both financially and emotionally. My son and I are going through that lesson now. He tells me when he has earned money that it "burns a hole in his pocket." We are working through that feeling and learning how good it feels to keep that hard earned money. So many financial issues stim from emotion and we are learning to feel good about not purchasing everything we feel like purchasing.

I am not an advocate for unsecure debt. Why waste the interest when you could be earning interest, but I find I end up with it. I currently have a bit to pay off. I have found the convenience of credit cards a little too convenient. I won't track my purchases when I use a credit card. Instead I get my bill at the end of the period and go - "wow! I spent a lot last month."

Children should be taught sooner rather than later to save and how to save. And just how it takes longer to save money that it is to spend it. :-)

I am truly gratified that this column has resonated with some of you. I sincerely encourage any reader to comment on how your upbringing influenced your perspective on personal finance--to the positive AND the negative! How are you dealing with training your own children about personal finance--or are you??? What do you know? What don't you know? Do you know how to find out what you don't know? Are you satisfied with how you're progressing? If not, what is unsatisfactory? Come on! Fill me in!

Great article. My parents "divorced" when I was young. My dad lived high on the hog, had the best of everything, gave my mom some money, when he felt like it or got tired of hearing her ask. They weren't divorced, just living apart, he with his girlfriend. They had everything or so it seemed to me at the time.

Mom and us 5 kids seemed to have nothing. Mom had to beg for money for shoes, cloths and food from my dad and when she did start working eventually but it never seemed to be enough. When I was in high school she worked 7 days a week just to keep food on the table.

At one time as a senior year I was working 3 jobs. My money was spent as quickly as I could make it and that continued year after year. Even as a young Marine with no bills, I had no savings.

Consumer debt, an embarresing amount. We were working on getting the debt paid down when I was laid-off. It's been a year and with cars needing to be replaced, a daughter who just got married and a son in college we are more in debt than ever.

The good thing is we were working on it, my business is picking up and I know there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's just a penlight right now, but its a light.

Maddie, your story rang particularly true for me because I simply never saved money for absolutely NO good reason. Much like you, it seems. It wasn't until I had responsibilities to someone other than myself (once I married, had children, etc.) that I realized saving should never be an option, and simply be a given. I wish I'd learned more about personal finances earlier on in life, but hey - better late than never!