{"id":1585,"date":"2012-06-07T10:48:15","date_gmt":"2012-06-07T10:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=1585"},"modified":"2012-06-09T17:19:26","modified_gmt":"2012-06-09T17:19:26","slug":"the-4-money-lessons-i-learned-from-my-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=1585","title":{"rendered":"Next Avenue.Org: The 4 Money Lessons I Learned From My Mom"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I recently spent two wonderful weeks with my mom, Marguerite, including some time in Siesta Key, Florida, where we watched the waves roll in while eating oysters and Key lime pie. We laughed a lot. Although my mom is 82 and I\u2019m 51, she jokes that we\u2019re practically best friends.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I can’t imagine a better one. My mom is mentally sharp, a great cook, up on all the news, a voracious reader and loads of fun to be with. With Mother\u2019s Day coming up, it got me thinking about what she has taught me about money and work over the years. Her counsel has helped me both professionally, as a writer about work and personal finance, and personally in my day-to-day life.Here are her four greatest lessons. Thanks, Mom!<\/div>\n
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1. Believe there\u2019s nothing you can\u2019t do and go for it.<\/strong>\u00a0I owe a large measure of my professional confidence to Mom. She worked in advertising and public relations before quitting in 1956 to raise four kids. \u201cAll of my college friends had careers,\u201d she says. \u201cWe never thought we couldn\u2019t compete with men.\u201dNeither did I. At age 21, I announced to my parents that I was determined to get a job at\u00a0Forbes<\/em>\u00a0magazine (Dad\u2019s favorite) in New York City, even though there were few women in financial journalism back then. I hadn\u2019t studied journalism in college \u2014 Duke didn\u2019t offer it in the curriculum. My writing \u201cclips\u201d were from college publications or equestrian magazines. (Horses have been my passion since I was 6.) And our family didn’t know any journalists.<\/div>\n
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But there was no pushback from Mom or Dad. In fact, after I graduated, began pitching freelance articles and landed some assignments, Mom lent a hand by proofreading some of my pieces. I also bounced story ideas off her. I knew I needed to build up my portfolio and expertise before I had a shot at getting in the door at\u00a0Forbes.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In time, I was freelancing for\u00a0Business Week<\/em>,\u00a0Advertising Age\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0The Pittsburgh Business Times.<\/em>\u00a0I even profiled ballerinas for\u00a0In Pittsburgh<\/em>, an alternative newspaper, though I knew nothing about dance.<\/p>\n

When I felt I had enough ammunition, I sent my resum\u00e9 and clips to the chief of reporters at\u00a0Forbes<\/em>. Score! I landed that\u00a0Forbes<\/em>\u00a0position in the Big Apple. Mom had never doubted that I\u2019d make it there. What a gift to give your kid self-confidence and a dollop of chutzpah.<\/p>\n

2. Shop from a grocery list.<\/strong>\u00a0Mom paid the bills in our household when I was growing up, so she knew more than a little about money management. She never shopped for groceries without a list \u2014 and still doesn\u2019t. To her, this discipline was a no-brainer: It saved money by helping her keep tight control over her supermarket spending.<\/p>\n

From the time we were children, she would actually phone in her weekly order to the local grocer, who would either deliver it or have it ready for pick-up.<\/p>\n

I follow this shopping list regime for my husband Cliff and myself, and I estimate it helps me save at least $1,000 a year. But \u2014 sorry, Mom \u2014 I do walk the supermarket aisles. And, from time to time, I\u2019ve been known to scoop up a bag of Double Stuf Oreos that wasn\u2019t on my list.<\/p>\n

3. Let your husband or partner do the shopping if your mate is a bargain hunter.<\/strong>\u00a0OK, Mom lucked out here. My dad, Jack, who died four years ago, was the owner and CEO of a management consulting and executive search firm, but he also loved to shop. He was good at finding bargains, too. Mom actually hates to shop, even for clothes, so this worked out well.<\/p>\n

Since how money gets spent is the issue couples fight about most often, this arrangement made for a happy marriage. I honestly never saw or heard my parents fight about finances.<\/p>\n

I am not crazy about shopping either, but I’m lucky to have a husband who doesn\u2019t mind doing it. He\u2019ll patiently hunt down the lowest airfares and hotel rates or buy a new clothes dryer if we need one. From time to time, he even purchases clothes for me \u2014 usually with more upscale labels than those I\u2019d buy for myself. Of course, he always waits for a sale. Win-Win.<\/p>\n

4. Earn more to spend more<\/strong>. When Dad would announce he wanted to buy something expensive, like a new Cadillac, Mom would say: \u201cJack, you\u2019ll just have to find a way to earn more,\u201d and she\u2019d laugh.<\/p>\n

Well, truth is, I often try to use Mom\u2019s rule myself. If there\u2019s something extra I know I want to spend money on \u2014 like a trip to Ireland to visit my niece Caitlin, who\u2019ll be studying in Galway \u2014 I immediately think about how many more assignments I\u2019d need to pay for it without dipping into savings. Then I go out and get them.<\/p>\n

That kind of motivation will make my Irish eyes smile \u2014 Mom\u2019s too, if she decides to join me on that trip to the Emerald Isle. I hope she does.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

by\u00a0Kerry Hannon<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0More by this author<\/a>\u00a0on NextAvenue.org<\/p>\n

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Kerry Hannon has spent more than 25 years covering personal finance for Forbes, Money, U.S. News & World Report, and USA Today. Her website is\u00a0kerryhannon.com<\/a>. Follow her on Twitter\u00a0@kerryhannon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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