Money lessons from your parents

As a child, I watched my father launch his magazine publishing business from the dining room table. A big part of that was not only my role – I was paid to stuff envelopes and loved the extra pocket money – but also learning at 11 that money mattered, and every expense was to be recorded.

We asked people for their top money tips handed down from their parents. Please remember, these are all anecdotes from days gone by and not necessarily sound in 2024. Always speak to a professional financial adviser before making any big decisions.

"The advice I had was to make sure you have at least six months' living expenses available in cash savings or liquid assets. This gives you time to figure out a solution in the event of losing your job – or if your job becomes something you need to walk away from. The idea was that you don't have to adjust your outgoings urgently to accommodate the new situation, so there's less need to panic. And it gives you a bit of breathing space to work out what to do next, with time to execute the plan. I still regard this as good advice and have passed it on to my own children."

Phil, 67, Kent

"Some of my father’s money tips are no longer relevant. Dad taught me to write a cheque and balance my chequebook –­ but I don’t have one anymore. He also said that you should spend a third of your salary on rent or mortgage, a third on living expenses and should save a third. A faint hope nowadays!

But others still apply. Saving was always emphasised. Buying on the ‘never-never’ (or ‘on tick’ – what we'd call credit these days) was frowned upon, although I know he did it for some things. He also used to pay a little bit extra on his mortgage for 11 months of the year, and then didn’t have to pay December’s, which was how he managed Christmas back in those days."

Gail, 70, Somerset

"I was advised to live within my means and not to spend money I haven't got. For example, don't get a credit card, unless I really needed to, for instance, in order to build up a credit score. I am proud that I have stayed out of debt for the most part."

Angela, 47, East Sussex

"The advice I got was to try to save 10–20% of your income as a true emergency account. I have always done this, and I keep it as an emergency account – it’s not a holiday account. Other advice included to pay as much as you can into your retirement account and to pay off your credit card bills as soon as possible. Check your bank statements every month ­– you might spot mistakes. Pay off as much of your mortgage as you can afford, as it’s a form of enforced savings for yourself."

Herman, 69, Birmingham

"My father advised me to look after my finances, and everything would be the better for it. He said, give generously if you can, as the tenth time you do, it will return a hundredfold. He said you should neither borrow nor lend money, that buying a property to live in – in his view – was the best long-term investment, and he advised against overseas property investments, as at that time, you couldn't inspect them regularly. He also pointed out that money is just the stuff of this world and that you can’t take it with you."

Julian, 74, East Sussex

"I was brought up by my mother, who worked very hard to keep five of us. My elder sisters left school at 15 in order to work and bring money into the home. My mother always managed to save. She had several jobs and worked at home in the evenings sewing. We used credit – in those days it was called ‘buying on the never-never’!

We learnt from her that 'money is hard to come by', 'money is not for the likes of us' and 'a woman needs a man or she finds it hard to get by'. None of them helped me. As a young woman, I swallowed whole what she said about the last one, but I don’t believe it anymore."

Pauline, 77, Kent

Our informal vox pop shows that there is a wide variety in the type of financial advice we get from our parents as we grow up. Some is timeless, some goes out of date as the world changes and some is simply less relevant when you consider how people live in 2024.

Of course, we also absorb unspoken financial messages from our parents. If we have children, we should perhaps be asking ourselves what financial messages we are passing on to them – it's future-proofing them to hopefully be better with money.

Whatever you decide to do, look after your money. Chase's easy-access saver account lets you start saving with as little as you like.

18+, UK residents. A Chase current account is required to open a saver account.

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