Yo! Here we go again with another contribution from 9th Street Nanny, that she calls ‘Mom on Money.’ It has a lot of good advice and we can learn from it. Ready? Here we go:

When I was a little girl, my Mother gave me a piggy bank to save my pennies and so I did and the pennies added into dollars that paid for my college. I majored in finance and accounting and I was amazed: what my Mom taught me about money is written in every accounting book; she didn’t know how financially smart she really was. As a matter of fact, there is a whole profession called “Personal Financial Advisors” that charge a lot of money for what my Mom knew back in the 1950s. Here are some original “Mom on Money” sayings, compared to those expensive “Personal Financial Advisors”.

Have a systematic financial savings plan: Save part of your pay every week / Diversify. Pennies go in the piggy bank, nickels and dimes and quarters go into the empty pickle jar and dollar bills go into the coffee can. The coffee can was a great place to save dollar bills because no one could see into it. / Don’t refinance your personal residence. Try to get the cheapest interest rate for your home the first time. / Buying big ticket items on credit. If you don’t have the money, then don’t buy it. / Don’t invest in a vacation home. If you don’t have the money for your first house, than why would you buy a 2nd house? Take your vacation on the front steps.

Don’t buy a car on credit. Walk and walk some more; take the bus. / Should you venture in the stock market? The stock market is for “Big Shots.” What, are you crazy? Keep your money where you can put your hands on it. / Let your money work for you. Your money doesn’t work for you, you work for your money. Go get a job! Go get a second job! / Buy a bond? You don’t buy a bond, you pay bond – like when your Uncle got arrested for stealing money. He stole money because he didn’t have a job. Get a job and you might never have to pay a bond! / To buy discounted investments. Do your shopping at the discount stores.

Your financial acid test should be this: Always have half saved of what you spend or a ratio of 2 to 1. / Take advantage of all your tax by being honest with the government. You don’t want any illegal deductions; they might lead to someone in a suit knocking at your door / To invest in a 401(k) or an IRA, save part of your pay every week – and don’t touch it! And you know what? If you can do only some of these ideas, you will find you will have a lot more money than you would otherwise have had.

Thanks Linda. I am going to my pickle jar and get enough to buy you a cup of coffee at the Melrose.