Читать книгу Money Mammoth - Ted Klontz - Страница 28

You are a product of your parents, and so is your relationship with money. Take a moment to think about your parents and their experiences around money. Did they grow up wealthy? Poor? Middle class? What was that like for them? Were they satisfied with their socioeconomic status as kids? Were they dissatisfied? Did they feel shame about having too little or too much money compared to those around them? Were they raised knowing that they would have family financial support when they needed it, or were they cut loose at an early age knowing they had to sink or swim on their own? What lessons did your grandparents teach them? What cultural and/or historical events impacted their relationship with money? How would you rate their satisfaction with their financial status in adulthood? Were they happy with their achievements? Did they feel remorse or despair?

Don't be surprised if you don't know the answers to these questions. After all, money is a taboo topic in our culture. Many of us feel shame around money, and it can be difficult to think about, let alone talk to your children about. However, your parents' experiences around money have had a dramatic impact on your relationship with money. Shedding light on their experience can help you make sense of your own financial beliefs and behaviors. If your parents are still alive, we encourage you to sit down with them and interview them about their relationship with money. If not, try to interview aunts, uncles, or cousins. Ask them questions about your grandparents and any stories about your other ancestors. In terms of understanding and mastering your own financial psychology, uncovering the details of your family history is pure gold.

Now think in terms of how your parents raised you around money. How was money handled in your home? How was it talked about? Did your parents agree about financial matters? Was money a topic of disagreement or conflict, or was it avoided altogether? What did your parents teach you about money, either overtly through instruction or by example?

When you take the time to explore your parents' experiences around money, you will make better sense of your own financial beliefs and decisions. As a child, you watched them closely. They created the universe in which you were raised; they created the initial structure on which you built your money mindset. Their beliefs about money have had a powerful impact on your own financial psychology—for better or worse.