How were your parents or other elders about money when you were a child? Did your mom and dad or either of them manage their money well or not? Were they the money spenders or the savers? Were they smart investors or not? Were they conservative or would they risk it? Would money bring them fear or happiness? Did they always have money, or did it happen from time to time? Would money come easily to you? Or was it fought for? Was money a source of joy in the house you grew up in, or did it spark fierce arguments?
Why is this information important? As children, we learn more or less everything by modelling.
Most of us hate to admit it, but there’s a lot more truth to the phrase “like breeds like” than you might think.
This reminds me of the story of the woman who cut both ends of the ham while cooking ham for dinner. When her surprised husband asked why she cut both ends, the woman said; “This is how my mom cooked,” she said. Coincidentally, the woman’s mother came to dinner with them that night. They asked him why he had cut both ends of the ham. “That’s how my mom cooked it,” she said. After all, they called the grandmother and asked the same question, what do you think was the answer of the grandmother? Because my pot was too small!”
The point I’ve come to is this; We often look like our mom or dad, or a mix of both, when it comes to money.
T. Harv Eker – “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”
