My daughter never takes my financial advice and it is frustrating. I mean, I am The Frugal Biddy Everyone listens (or should listen) to me (I am being sarcastic, kind of)..
My goal is for people save money and not over extend themselves. I know what it is like to be not only broke but broke with a baby. I never want anyone to experience what I experienced let alone my own daughter.
Save Money, Reduce Expenses
Save Money
One of the biggest things that I have told my daughter to do is to save money. I have strongly suggested that she put at least $50 a month away in her savings account because you never know what could happen in life.
The only thing I required of my daughter after going into her second year of college was for her to pay her car note of $153.
I also strongly suggested that she save at least $50 a month into her savings account. Had she listened to me she would have saved $1,800 so far.
Now let’s break down what $50 a month really is. $50 a month is exactly $12.50 a week! Even when I was at my brokest, I could come up with $12.50 a week!!! A college student should be able to save that amount easily…
My Daughter Is Not A Mini Me or Frugal Biddy, Jr.
People are shocked when I tell them that my daughter never takes my financial advice. There is this presumption that she is a mini me.
I would love to have a Frugal Biddy, Jr. on my hand where she could speak to the millenials and I could continue speaking to those that follow me. We could be a power house but this will not happen since my daughter never takes my financial advice on anything.
My Daughter Never Takes My Financial Advice on Money Saving Tips
One year my daughter had a surplus from funds I paid for her tuition. I overpaid the tuition by about $1,200 (nice problem to have, right?) and let her keep it. I STRONGLY encouraged her to send that extra payment to her car loan to reduce her loan amount. Since I knew she wasn’t good with money, I thought she may want to reduce her overall loan balance. She didn’t take my sage advice.
My Daughter Never Takes My Financial Advice on Working More than One Job
I believe that when kids are in college, they should work. Every college kid may not be able to work during the school year but every college kid can work during the summer.
For two summers in a row, my daughter chose to work only 25 hours a week. I would accept this if she was also in summer school but she was not.
My suggestion for working two summer jobs this was two fold:
First, the more money she made during the summer the less she would have to work during the school year if she had to work at all.
Second, she could rent a place with her friends with the money she made over the summer rather than live with me. I liked not living in a dorm and living in my own place when I was in college. Why should I deprive her of such an experience???
My Daughter Never Takes My Financial Advice but I Will Continue to Offer It
Everyone has to learn things in their own way and in their own time. No matter how many financial mistakes my daughter makes I will always be there to guide her through them although I won’t financially bail her out.
If you are a parent struggling with a child who seems to ignore your advice, just keep talking the talk and walking the walk.
For other tips, try reading my other blog posts:
How to Get Out of Debt and Stay out of Debt
Tough Love, Tough Finances and Saying No