The Money Thing

I had a pretty good talk last night with my Dad about what he believes about money.

His money "shadow" includes things like:

• I have to get excellent value for money spent on myself
• I have to pay cash for everything (no loans without full collateral)
• I must wait and save for everything I want before I buy it
• I must always be conservative, especially with money
• I must not take risks with money
• I must regret greatly any money I waste, lose, squander, or spend foolishly
• I therefore must repress and deny all failures with regard to money
• Money is not a relational issue that impacts others personally, it's a financial matter
• If one of my kids screws up with money, both of my kids must equally suffer the consequences
• It's OK for me to have enough money while others I care about lack money
• Never let others know how much money you actually have
• In some cases, I can secretly and arbitrarily give money to those I care about

Of course I don't agree with all of this, but at least now I have a better idea of my roots in this area.

What's your money shadow? How are your rules different?