Thanks, Mom, for setting financial example

Posted on my refrigerator at home is a poem titled, "When You Thought I Wasn't Looking."

It claims to be written by "a former child," and it includes such bits of wisdom as, "When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one." And, "When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake just for me, and I knew that little things are special things." It goes on from there, ending with, "When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked — and wanted to say, 'Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.' "

Whenever I read this piece — and I often do on my frequent trips to the refrigerator — I think of mothers and, specifically, the lessons my mother taught me.

So, Mom, today I want to talk about the good financial habits I learned from you when you thought I wasn't looking.

I watched you plan menus for every meal we were going to eat a week or more in advance. Then I saw you make a shopping list for the ingredients you would need to make those meals. And, most amazing of all, I saw you stick to that list.

From that example, I learned that managing money requires planning and discipline.

I watched you buy store-brand or generic products when they were available and of good quality, and I learned that it pays to shop around.

I watched you toil in our vegetable garden, growing beans, peas and lots of other things Dad and I really didn't want to eat. From that, I learned that working hard around the home is just as challenging as working outside of the home, and that there's nothing like the taste of a carrot you grew yourself.

I listened as you encouraged me to put my extra money into the bank, and I learned that saving for the future is important.

I watched you take over bill-paying duties from Dad because you thought it was something you should know how to do, and because he didn't really like doing it, anyway. And I learned that being a grown-up means paying your debts, on time, with minimal grumbling.

I watched you balance the checkbook, and I learned that it's important to keep track of your finances and to double-check what the bank says you spent every month.

(In fact, I learned this lesson so well that I immediately balance the checkbook each month when our statement comes, even as my wife mockingly says, "Honey, you get to do your favorite thing!")