According to a recent study, 96% of American parents require their children to do household chores in exchange for pocket money. At the other end of the spectrum, the majority of children in Cyprus (89%), China (77%) and Slovakia (75%) don't have to lift a finger to earn an allowance.

This study made me wonder how money lessons learned at a young age can impact our financial decisions later in life. For example, do rich parents condition their children for financial success by passing on good financial habits?

What did your parents teach you about money? Did they give you words of wisdom or did they teach you by example? How did their views affect your perception of finances later on in life? If you think their influence has been less than positive, how did you overcome them?

Share your story in the comments section and get entered in a random drawing for $25 Amazon Gift Certificate!

This drawing is over.  Congrats to Debbie M, the winner of the drawing.  Thank you to everyone who participated! 

My own survey among the Wise Bread bloggers produced some fascinating results:

Justin Ryan

Justin Ryan0 - 0 = 0. That's my mom's mantra. It never really makes sense, because she usually uses it to talk about things like an overdrawn checking account, or not having the money for something - what she usually means is 0 - X = -X, as in "If you have no money, and you spend some, you end up in the negative."

My dad doesn't handle money, so all my direct lessons came from mom. (That isn't to say I haven't learned lessons about working hard from Dad.) Mom created a lot of negative stereotypes for me, ones that for the most part I've shed, but still create anxiety for me. For example:

  • Debts are bad, and anyone who has debt is a bad person. That's not true, and I don't think that way about others now, but the thought of incurring debt makes me physically ill, because it's still ingrained in my psyche.
  • Bankruptcy is evil, and so are the people who file for it. I know a lot of people who have had to file bankruptcy, and none of them are evil, just made poor choices. However, my mother believes their all freeloaders trying to cheat their way out of their debts.
  • Risk is a sign of weakness. Anyone with any sense makes conservative financial decisions. Doing anything risky (opening your own business, buying a new car, investing in the stock market) is stupid, and means you're completely ignorant when it comes to finances. I still struggle with making these decisions, because I know she's going to have a mouthful to say.

Those are just examples, there's quite a bit more I could say. However, I did learn some positive things, like that working hard pays off, that there is no reason to pay bills late, and that keeping a check register is a good idea (I still don't on my general purpose account, but I don't tell her that.)

Julie Rains

For starters, my parents and my husband's parents were kids during the depression; my mother-in-law's family were better off than most because her dad had a government job (he worked for the post office).

A big change in generations was that the older ones tended to have pensions or what is called a defined benefit (something you can count on); my generation (and those to come) relies on 401-ks and other types of retirement programs (stock programs, IRAs, etc.)

My dad showed me how an amortization table works when I was a kid. His mortgage interest rate was 4%; at some point I asked him if he didn't want to go ahead and pay off the loan balance. He said, "the bank would love for me to do that" because interest rates at the time were much higher. Hmmm. The other big advice he gave me was to save more than he did. (duly noted)

My family is somewhat business-oriented. My oldest sister, who used to sell pieces of candy at school to make a profit (before teachers learned about it and stopped her) was a business major at UNC-CH (though, unlike me, she graduated #1 in her class) and earned an MBA-Finance at Northwestern University. My dad had an econ degree from UNC-CH (he attended on the GI Bill) and I got a business degree there. My other sister is a speech and communications person but married to a CPA. My mom earned a bachelor's degree and was an RN; her family couldn't afford to send her to school but some family friends were kind enough to pay for it. So numbers and such run in my family.

My in-laws are frugal (like my parents except when it comes to coffeemakers) but my father-in-law has been more of an investor. He watches CNBC every day and was a big fan of Louis Rukeyser; he manages a stock portfolio and also has real estate investments. I did get to help him out once in regard to finances when his company's pension plan was bought by another company; he seemed unsettled by the news but I told him his pension wasn't any more or less safe with his original company. I think that helped a bit but it may have been my imagination that anything I said influenced him at all. My mother-in-law worked after the kids were in school, as a nurse at the state mental health facility; all of her health insurance is paid by the state now and that was a smart move.

So, I've said much but basically live modestly, save and invest are the messages I've heard; that and do the best with what you have.

Will Chen

My parents were deeply distrustful of investments when I was growing up. They believe you should work until the day you die and put every penny into the bank. Even putting money into a bank was a bit of a risky move for them. If they had their way, they would probably build a giant vault at home to keep all their money in and swim around in it Scrooge McDuck style.

While my parents' investment strategies have matured over the years, their initial deep distrust of all investment vehicles strongly influenced how I look at finances. Even today I cannot bring myself to do anything riskier than CDs and index funds. I haven't looked into a giant vault yet, but I haven't ruled it out, either.

Sarah Winfrey

I care about money because my parents cared about money. Really, it's that simple. When I was growing up, my parents both showed me and taught me that my money and how I chose to spend it was important. They gave me an allowance, but they both encouraged and reminded me to save some. They helped me choose toys that I wanted (and could eventually get) to save towards. When I was old enough, they got me a savings account so that I could get my bank statement in the mail each month and see my money making money (and so I could feel like a big person, and associate that "grown up" feeling with "saving," I suppose). Later on, they co-signed so I could open a checking account and taught me how to write a check, use my ATM card, and balance my checkbook every month. Read more

Linsey Knerl

My parents never talked about money. My father, however, drilled us daily on his most important piece of financial wisdom.

"Never trust a bank."

I started hearing it when I was 4, and I have never forgotten him saying those four words.

[Will's note: No wonder Linsey and I get along so well. We're united by our deep mistrust of evil banks!]

As you can see, what our parents taught us about money had a tremendous impact on our lives. What kind of lessons did your parents share with you?

Share your parental money lessons in the comments section and get entered in a random drawing for $25 Amazon Gift Certificate!

Deadline to enter drawing is 10/6 midnight. Don't forget to enter your email address in the field provided and only one entry per person.

This drawing is over.  Congrats to Debbie M, the winner of the drawing.  Thank you to everyone who participated!