No, 51


At one time or another, can you remember hearing some parent say, "My kids think that money grows on trees?" If you have never heard this, loosely translated it means that some children think there is an unending supply of money and for whatever they think they need or want, their parents should have enough to buy it for them. When I was growing up, my parents were good, honest people, but we didn't have a lot of money. We certainly were not destitute and had plenty to eat, a warm place to live and decent clothes to wear, but beyond this, at times things were pretty "lean." To be honest, I guess the thing that has motivated me more than anything else is that I saw so many of the other kids in our small town who had so much more than I did.
One year during the summer, when I had just finished the seventh grade, I remember
chopping cotton for four ten-hour days, for $4.00 per day. When I got paid 16 crisp one-dollar bills, I thought I was rich! Of course, in some circles today that $16.00 won't even buy a good steak. This experience helped to shape my values and I truly believe the only way to appreciate the value of money is to earn it. When a young person earns their money by the sweat of their brow they not only know its value, the chances are much better that they will spend it wisely and may even save part of it.
What I'm saying that may be of interest to you, especially if you have children or grandchildren you are rearing, is that most of our financial habits are learned while we are young. Trying to teach a 16 year old youngster financial responsibility is a little late. It's not impossible, but it's much easier when they are younger. To my way of thinking, one of the greatest problems we have in America today is parents who give their children too much money and material things without them having to earn it. Just think of all the divorces that come about because one or both of the marriage partners never learned the value of money or how to manage it.
Please consider this true story and how you might be able to use it to help someone you love. It seems a father had an eleven year old son who always wanted to borrow money, in addition to what he was being paid for doing assigned chores and odd jobs. So the father said, "What will you give me as collateral on a $35.00 loan?" At this point the father explained what the word "collateral" meant and the son said he had a skateboard and a stereo set that he would give him to keep until the loan was repaid. Over the coming weeks a few payments were made on time, then one day he missed a payment, so the father sold his skateboard. Later when the son missed another payment, the father sold his stereo set. Quite naturally this made the son very unhappy, but the father reported that this son never asked to borrow money again. You may think this was cruel, but just try to keep in mind that quite often the best lessons in life are learned the hard way. I say this because here is the rest of the story. Ten years later this same son said, "Dad, there is just no way you will ever know how much I appreciate what you have done for me in regards to managing my finances."
When we have lots of money, it's the easiest thing on earth to give, because there are few who will refuse it. From my heart to yours, if you really want to do something special for your children and grandchildren that has lasting value, teach them to work, save and invest a percentage of their money. Few are they that learn this, but it’s a great lesson. (EDITORS NOTE: Jim Davidson is a motivational speaker and syndicated columnist. You may contact him at 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)