Money Memories from Moms
Painting Pictures That Point the Way Out
Sunday, May 10th is Mother’s Day. My mother has always been my biggest fan! She encouraged me to go after whatever I want in life and did not put any heavy expectations on me. There are times in my youth where I found this particularly freeing. Permitting your children to dream helps them look forward and creates a limitless ambition to achieve.
I think most of our practices have a thing for family. We focus a great deal on the relationships and generations. I recognize there are many differences. Some kids grow up with a silver spoon in their mouths as trust fund babies and some grow up with strict requirements to earn an allowance. I have heard a lot of great stories and lessons around money that families have taught their children. I imagine you have some stories of your own. Here’s one I have permission to share from a team member during a time when her family was having financial difficulty:
“Dad lost his job. I could feel his shame and I know they did not want the four of us, my three brothers and I, to worry. Yet, we knew some choices had to be made that involved us. For me, it was my music lessons. I was preparing for what our high school band called “a challenge” for first chair. I wanted to continue my lessons, but it seemed frivolous and unreasonable given the circumstances.
Mom shared that the family across the street had spoken to her about having me babysit their two kids. She wondered how I would feel about doing that to pay for the music lessons for a few months.
It turned out that I enjoyed babysitting and played my flute for the kids. That year, I not only started paying for my own lessons, I saved up enough money to buy a solid silver flute. I found that I took my lessons more seriously and practiced more. As I look back, I appreciate that mom found a way that I could keep things going despite our family’s financial struggles. By the way, I finished off that year as the section leader.”
I have many memories of my own family and the things I learned about money long before I even imagined working in the financial services industry. These memories can have a monumental impact on how we make financial decisions. It is helpful to see where some of what stirs in you comes from when you are faced with a variety of financial circumstances from the loss of a job to a windfall.
Here is a pretty cool story about family finances and making memories from the heart of one mom to another:
Now, check out this story from the other side:
This is how finance can create real family legacy.
We talk a lot about intergenerational planning, but this can be a great point of beginning for those deeper conversations with your clients and prospects. When they think about mom and finances what does that conjure up?
Mom’s financial situation can certainly impact their planning from needing to provide support for her to becoming a beneficiary of her estate. I think we should all know more about our clients. This week, I encourage you to ask people about their moms, even if they have passed, and learn what you can about those memories.
Being a mom is no easy job and we have a lot of professional moms we support as part of our work with Jambalaya Group. I want to let you know how much we respect and admire you for being there for your clients and your kids–you are amazing!
If you’d like to share stories of your own about Money Memories from Mom, email Marie Tobin!
About the Author
Bernie DeLaRosa, CFP®, ChFC®, CRPC®, CLU®, APMA®, CASL®, BFA™
Managing Business Consultant
- Mergers/Acquisitions/Practice Sales
- Legal Agreement Definition
- Advisor Leadership Skills
- Initial Practice Assessment