Thankfulness Day 19

I am thankful for my dad's financial lessons. My dad is a banker and has been since I was in the 1st grade. I am really thankful for his lessons and guidance in financial matters since I was young. My brothers and I were really young when we started getting an allowance. Really young. It wasn't much money but Dad wanted to be able to teach us early on how to manage money and how money is a necessity but mis using it was a sin. Anyway, from the very start of our allowance, we knew that we had to tithe 10% and put 10% into our savings account. Not 10% for a later date for a big thing. It had to go into a savings account that drew interest. Now for a little kid to get $10 and automatically lose $2 didn't seem fair at the time. Now I am glad that he taught us this because it has become a habit. We also keep our checkbook balanced. This was really difficult when we were first married because TJ had never done this and didn't know how! So when we got out joint account for the first time, we really struggled. I had my first checking account when I turned 13 and Dad would make sure that I balanced it every time I spent anything out of it. Another lesson was that we could not get a forward on our allowance. If we ran out of money or did not have enough for whatever it was that we were wanting than we had to wait. This is an important lesson about borrowing money and living above your means. Don't do it. TJ and I have 1 credit card and it has a very low balance and is used only for emergencies. If we do not have the physical money to go on a trip or to buy expensive gifts or whatever than we don't do it. My parents pay for almost everything in cash and flat out. Mom just got a brand new car and paid cash. This is only the 3rd brand new car that my mom has ever had. Dad's motorcycle is the same thing. Totally paid for. TJ and I are not there yet. We were barely married for a year when both of our cars that were totally paid off died! We bought two nice used cars with really low miles so that they would last a long time. We now have one of them paid off and are working hard to pay the final one off. That extra money would be really nice! Our house is great. We got a good deal on it but also did not even come close to the top of our budget. There is no need to live above our means.
I think that the one lesson that I took from my dad the most though was giving. My family has always been relatively well off. We never struggled and were always provided with what we needed and most of the time wanted. There is a difference in a need and a want but that is for a later post. But Dad always taught us about giving. This time of year reminds me to do that even more. Growing up each of us kids always selected a child off of the angel tree. Mom and Dad would then take us shopping and allow us to choose things that we thought that the kids would like. They always reminded us that these were kids less fortunate and that this might be the only gifts that they got in an entire year! We also would go through our closets and toys at least once a year and get rid of the stuff that we did not wear or that we did not play with. We would then load it all up and take it to either a shelter or to the Salvation Army. TJ and I have carried both of these actions into our marriage. Every year we have taken either one or two children from the angel tree and bought them gifts. And we go through our stuff at least twice a year if not more than that. It really is a joy to give.
All these are lessons that TJ and I hope to pass on to our kids one day. Money should never be the most important thing in someones life.