My grandparents were hardworking people who saved money and spent frugally. I remember when grandma would give me a particularly generous gift, she would ask me not to tell grandpa about it. For his part, grandpa was a savvy guy who I believe always knew and went along with her deception. I also remember a great grandfather who chewed tobacco and whom I rarely saw when I was a child, but when I did he always gave me a silver dollar. The aversion of the tobacco juice and the attraction of the shiny dollar are inextricably linked.
Did you talk about money in your family—the value of it and the earning, saving, and spending of it? We didn’t in mine. Money was a taboo subject. Did you get an allowance as a kid? How much was it and what did you do with the money? Did you have a piggy bank? Mine was actually a deer. I once shook my deer bank upside down and wiggled a table knife in the slot to get out nickel for a pack of chewing gum that I bought at the gas station on the corner. I felt so bad I went home and confessed. When did you get your first bank account? What does money mean to you? Freedom? Security? The means to do good? What’s the best investment you ever made—and the worst? Your children and theirs will be fascinated with the answers.
“We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs.” Gloria Steinem
“Money is power, freedom, a cushion, the root of all evil, the sum of blessings.” Carl Sandburg
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