Do you talk MONEY? Seven Lessons on Making Money
Do you talk MONEY? Seven Lessons on Making Money
December 12, 2011 by Taylor Studios
This week a friend asked me to describe a childhood memory that helped me become what I am today. I thought of how I join my dad and other farmers for breakfast when I go home for Holidays. Often the talk is about markets, who is farming so and so’s land and who has the most money. It made me think of childhood conversations about money.
Talking about making money, saving money and earning money was fairly common talk. I can remember being very young and getting a little savings bank. This bank was opened when we took it to the bank and deposited the money in a savings account. When relatives gave me gifts of money or I earned some, half of the money went in this little bank. I think I had a savings account from day one.
Often I was paid money when I did farm chores. I also hired my friends to help with farm chores.
My first job outside the family farm was cleaning stalls at a horse farm when I was 14. She paid me $.75 to clean a stall, $1.25 to strip a stall, $1 to sweep the isle, etc. On my first paycheck her math was wrong. After that I gave her an invoice (a little note pad with the details of each day’s work) every two weeks for my paycheck. I got a checkbook once I got this job and had to do all the balancing and planning myself. That year I bought a class ring, yet didn’t have $200 in cash. My mom would take me to the jewelry store every week to make payments towards the ring.
My parents were extremely frugal. We grew most of our own food, had hand me down clothes from cousins, took our shoes to the repair shop, etc. When my parents were young they only bought what they could pay for in cash. Yet, they taught me that if they had taken a loan for farmland when they were younger it would have helped them in the long run. Loans are ok for things that appreciate in value, nothing else.
Lessons from talking money include:
My friend said it was taboo to talk about money in his house. He said he doesn’t talk the language of business in social settings much either. It seems like society thinks there is shame in making money and talking about it. I often hone down the talk of business and money in certain circles, too. Yet, the challenge and reward of it can be exciting and fun. Maybe we would all be better off if we helped each other with the talk of how to do better with our MONEY.