Comments on: Book Giveaway: Every Family’s Business

By: Middle Class Squeeze Edition - Personal Finance Review » Money Smart Life

Middle Class Squeeze Edition - Personal Finance Review » Money Smart Life — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:28:36 +0000

[...] – Million Dollar Journey is giving away the book Every Family’s Business. [...]

By: Middle Class Squeeze Edition - Personal Finance Review » Money Smart Life

Middle Class Squeeze Edition - Personal Finance Review » Money Smart Life — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:28:36 +0000

[...] – Million Dollar Journey is giving away the book Every Family’s Business. [...]

By: paulette

paulette — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:56:04 +0000

I agree with that. Sometimes management style of the founding member of the family business is much strong compared to those of the successors.

By: Roundup: Index Funds, Tax Deductions, Identity Theft and More!

Roundup: Index Funds, Tax Deductions, Identity Theft and More! — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:36:46 +0000

[...] Book Giveaway: Every Family’s Business at Million Dollar Journey. Like this article? Subscribe in a reader [...]

By: Jordan

Jordan — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:54:12 +0000

While growing up at my house, my mother was a homemaker and my father worked for the local utility company. It seems that everything my parents did was to save where possible(like clipping coupons, shopping sales, etc.) to allow us to live a comfortable, leisure filled life. I didn’t really appreciate it until now that I live on my own with my fiance, where I see that getting by on our income is tough enough without three kids eating you out of house and home. I can’t thank them enough for teaching me the value of compounding interest and living below my means.

By: Sarlock

Sarlock — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 06:14:32 +0000

My family was devestated in the early 1980’s real estate crash… we went from being a comfortable middle class family to having to go to the food bank for Christmas dinner in 1982. My parents taught me a lot about money, through the various businesses they owned over the years, but the impact of that financial destruction still impacts all of our decisions 25 years later. This is why my wife and I (her family was equally impacted in the early 80’s) bought a home at a 15% mortgage payment/income ratio when the banks kept trying to sell us on how high a mortgage we could take out.

By: walk0080

walk0080 — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:08:55 +0000

Well my family is probably half and half: Some say save and buy with cash, others say buy with credit. My opinion is that whenever possible, use cash unless it is a very large expense that can also be used as an investment, e.g. a home or education.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:53:00 +0000

I was raised mostly by my Grandparents.

Since they grew up during the war, they were EXTREMELY tight with money, and hated wasting things like food. Can’t tell you how many times I tried getting them to buy me something and they’d not give in.

They also encouraged me to learn about investing and the value of saving. I remember going to the bank with my grandpa and buying my first bond as a young teen.

By: ryan

ryan — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:39:06 +0000

my father owns a small manufacturer (which i also work at).

growing up my mother never discussed finances. my father broke down everything into how much it cost per month, or how much it was costing you from your future self etc. watching a business/business owner my whole life obviously drove me to a business degree at college.

the life advice didnt really kick in until about 25, but it has rocketed me in the right direction since then.

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:14:40 +0000

My mother and father had slightly differing opinions about money. Both are very financially savvy and passed that on to us, but my mom is a bit more overprotective and cautious. My father, on the other hand, intends to die broke and is a bit more relaxed about financial affairs. My mother always burdened me with her financial paranoia, and as a result I think I worry about it much more than I need to!

By: Cannon_fodder

Cannon_fodder — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:00:45 +0000

One of the best lessons my dad taught me about money forced me to recognize the difference between “needs” and “wants”.

If I wanted something, say a new bike or the socially accepted brand of jeans, my dad would do 1 of 2 things – he would either tell me he would be willing to pay for half and I would have to put in the other half, or he would find out how much a decent quality item would cost and tell me if I wanted to ‘upgrade’ to the ‘in’ brand that I would have to make up the difference.

By: mfleming

mfleming — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:55:44 +0000

Sounds like it would be interesting reading.

By: This and That

This and That — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:46:50 +0000

[...] Million Dollar Journey reviewed Every Family’s Business and is giving away copies of the book. [...]

By: Marianne O.

Marianne O. — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:43:10 +0000

Of all the financial lessons my parents taught me, I think the most important has been the difference between wants and needs.

Despite the fact that my mom quit working when they adopted me and my brother, and my dad had only a moderate income as a high-school teacher, they’re in great financial shape today. That’s because they’ve been very careful about limiting their spending on non-essentials.

When I was in elementary and high school (up to the early 90s) we had horribly ugly wallpaper, and no VCR or cable TV. As you can guess, there were no “cool” brand name clothes or shoes for us either. But we did have plenty of basic clothes, aerial TV and lots of healthy home-cooked food. Eventually my parents did get a VCR, cable service and new wallpaper — but only when they felt there was room for them in the family budget. At the time the wait seemed like forever. Today, I’m thankful for the ability to appreciate what I’ve got, and wait for what I want.

I actually broke up with a long-time boyfriend because of differences in lifestyle expectations, which included his desire to have top-of-the line electronics equipment, car, etc., vs. my desire to live frugally. So it seems that Mom and Dad’s lessons are pretty deeply ingrained.

By: Vandergrift

Vandergrift — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:37:43 +0000

Money was never really talked about when I was growing up, though my father would try to teach me things like the benefit of compounding, rule of 72 etc, but he didn’t really know them that well. I never knew how much my parents made, or if we were in financial trouble until well after the fact.
It wasn’t until I was older (highschool and throughout university) that my father started giving me books to read like the wealthy barber, and rich dad poor dad, which have now picqued my interests.

By: ABCSTOCKS

ABCSTOCKS — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:19:16 +0000

My parents taught us that never spend beyond your limits,always buy with cash, save a little first from every pay check, pay mortgage, invest steadily in retirement funds for long term.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:06:20 +0000

My parents taught me to save at an early age. They were also diligent about paying off their mortgage doing so in only 9 years after moving into their current house. I fell into bad spending habits around the time I went to university racking up a small amount of credit card debt, but a few years ago I returned to the lessons they taught me at an early age and started getting my finances back in order.

By: Best of Million Dollar Journey: March 2008 | Million Dollar Journey

Best of Million Dollar Journey: March 2008 | Million Dollar Journey — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:32:36 +0000

[...] we start, we are currently giving away 5 copies of the book Every Family's Business. If you haven't entered already (open to everyone), you can find the rules and enter [...]

By: Kacper

Kacper — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:42:25 +0000

When I was a child, my father opened his own bussiness. It was going really good. So, my parents were telling me to work on my own and for a success I need a good education.

So far, I followed this advice in 50%. Recently I’ve graduated, but I’m working at a regular job right now. But in future I will go freelance mode:)

By: Chad

Chad — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:46:44 +0000

My greatest learning growing up was in the supermarket. My family did not have any excess money to waste which meant that every dollar had to be spent wisely. I always went to the supermarket with my mother, the mission was to take advantage of the flyer specials. My mother taught me a a very young age the importance of money by letting me locate the items on sale. The reward was that if I could save us money and show her the savings I would be rewarded with the difference. This simple teaching has stayed with me today in my everyday shopping.