Today on MoneyLife with Chuck Bentley
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Financial Lessons from Our Parents
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I'm calling in from Switzerland today. I'm here for a meeting with Crown leaders from 17 European countries. We're making plans for how we can be more effective by creating more practical solutions for each nation. We're praying together and asking the Lord for favor. There’s a desperate need for teaching about money that works. We're joining with other ministries that operate in Europe and we're blessed to find there is much unity in the Body of Christ.
Jim and his wife, Mary, have been married for 14 years. Their son, Ryan, is 10. Jim's parents were born during the Great Depression. His mother grew up on a farm in Oklahoma. When her father died at a young age, she had to help her family make money by doing laundry. Jim's father’s family used to move around a lot, his dad had a shoe store. Both of Jim's parents grew up in poor households. They learned to be savers, and didn’t believe in accruing debt. Jim's father was a draftsman; his mother was a first-grade teacher. Jim's parents gave him an allowance of a quarter a week when he was only a toddler. He learned the value of money almost immediately from the example of his parents. The family lived in a rented duplex. His parents bought the duplex when he was 16, paying for it with cash. Jim realized money was finite, and he enjoyed counting it. He was always fascinated by numbers. He saved the quarters because his desire for a toy wasn’t greater than the value of the money. When Jim was 7, his mother convinced him to buy savings bonds. He went to the bank and bought the bonds himself. He could buy one for about $19. He was amazed that when he cashed it in, he got $25. Jim loved earning interest on his money. He started investing all his surplus money into savings bonds, and only stopped buying bonds when he moved into mutual funds as an adult. So Jim was raised to be a saver. He began practicing it at an early age. He took a computer programming class in high school, and became interested in computers. About that time, Radio Shack came out with a computer that had 4K of memory for $600. Jim’s parents offered to pay half of the cost, and Jim cashed in savings bonds for his half. He bought the computer his senior year in high school. Aided by the purchase of the computer, Jim learned about programming and went on to get a college degree in computer science. He was far ahead of most other people in his college classes because his experience with a computer. Because of the lessons he learned from his parents and the frugal lifestyle his family has lived, Jim and his family haven’t had any financial burdens. Even when Jim was laid off six years ago, the family was secure. Mary was still working and they were able to live off one income at that time. Mary came from a similar background she shares the same view of money. They are now trying to pass financial wisdom along to their son, Ryan. They're teaching him about debt and credit cards, and paying credit cards off at the end of each month. They're also teaching him to save for college and retirement. Ryan has a bank account and puts gift money in it. Jim is very grateful to his mother for what she taught him, and the sacrifices she made. He expresses his love for her. *** Don't forget about the God Provides™ film tour coming to Atlanta Thursday, February 11 and Chattanooga, Thursday, February 18. I'll be teaching, too. These events are family friendly and free, so bring your children. We'll be showing Abraham and Isaac and the Widow and Oil films. You can register here. This is not a fundraising event and there's no charge to attend. I encourage you to see God as your provider during these difficult economic times. I hope you’ll make plans to be there if you live in those areas. If you do, please say hello and let me know you're a MoneyLife listener. |
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Children and Finances Pt. 1Parents’ goals should be to slowly develop financial discipline and wisdom in their children. |
Children and Finances Pt. 2Parents are not raising children; they are raising future adults. |
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Materialism vs. Self-EsteemMore children believe that their clothes and brands describe who they are and define their social status. |
Disciplining Children FinanciallyFinancial pressure placed upon young adults is almost impossible to resist. As parents, our responsibility is to teach children self-discipline. |
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Other Resources: |
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Awhile back we asked you to send us your stories about financial lessons taught by your parents. Our guest today is Jim Humelsine, a listener from New Jersey, who sent in some great ones, and he'll share them with us today.