My father is long gone, but the financial lessons he bestowed
have never left me. As Fathers Day approaches, I reflect on those principles:
Get a good education
so you can take care of yourself, just in case. When I was growing up, the
assumption was that if a girl even went to college, the purpose was to find a
good husband to support her. But my father expected me to learn how to do something that would pay
me enough money to live on. My father's parents were divorced when he was
young, and he watched his own mother struggle to make ends meet. Going to
college was out of the question for him, so he joined the Air Force and went later, on
the G.I. bill. Both my parents insisted that their children would go to
college, and they saved all their married lives to make that happen.
Hang onto your silver
dollars. I took up coin collecting as a child, but coins took a backseat to
boys when I became a teenager. In my collection, there were 22 silver dollars
from the early twentieth century. My father told me these belonged in the bank
for safekeeping. Next thing I knew, my silver coins disappeared, and my father
deposited $22.00 into my savings account. Soon afterward, he took over the rest
of my neglected coin collection. I often ridiculed my father for depositing my
silver dollars in the bank, receiving only face value. However, when he died, I
inherited my coin collection back from him, and every one of my silver dollars
was still there. And by then, they were worth much more than $22.00. I guess he
was afraid I was going to spend them, so he hid them away.
No matter how much
you have, give something back. Share. There is always someone worse off
than you. There are countless charities doing good work with not enough
resources. My father was active in Kiwanis and Boy Scouts, especially after
retirement. I've always had a soft spot for animals, so I support many animal
charities. Now that I'm retired, I devote much of my time to the Fayette Humane
Society, where I serve on the all-volunteer Board of Directors. And charitable
donations, as well as expenses incurred doing volunteer work for a qualified
charity, are tax deductible!
How did your father shape your attitudes toward money? I
would love to hear your comments.
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