Momma's don't let your babies grow up to be Greebo's (Teach them about money early)

[Greebo]

I'm still stuck on someone thinking I'm good at speaking the truth without offending...

[gmarie]

I should also note that my parents have never bailed me out and I do attribute the small amount of financial responsibility I had in my 20s to this fact! I knew I had no other choice but to make ends meet. (I just wish I listened to my mother when she advised against me getting my first credit card and car loan!)

Great post, Greebo! Thanks!

[kita]

Greebo's ain't easy to love and they're harder to teach.
They'd rather give you a song, then string you along.
Budgeting ranckles and pain's hard to watch
But each night begins a new day
But if they don't understand it, an' they don't die young
They'll probably just charge away.

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be Greebos
Don't let them charge credit or give them a loan.
Let them fall down and learn from such.
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be Greebos.
'Cos they'll never leave home just search for a loan
Even from someone they love.

Ceashells likes savings and coupons and e'en teaching Greebo
Really big goals and budgets and paying down loans.
Them that don't know him don't like him and them that do,
Sometimes won't know how to take him.
He ain't sweet, he's just different but his past won't let him,
Do things that make you think you're right.

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be Greebos
Don't let them charge credit or give them a loan.
Let them fall down and learn from such.
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be Greebos.
'Cos they'll never leave home just search for a loan
Even from someone they love.


Sorry, I have been resisting the temptation to do this since you first started this thread. I just finally caved....

[Greebo]

Greebo's ain't easy to love and they're harder to teach.
They'd rather give you a song, then string you along.
Budgeting ranckles and pain's hard to watch
But each night begins a new day
But if they don't understand it, an' they don't die young
They'll probably just charge away.

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be Greebos
Don't let them charge credit or give them a loan.
Let them fall down and learn from such.
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be Greebos.
'Cos they'll never leave home just search for a loan
Even from someone they love.

Ceashells likes savings and coupons and e'en teaching Greebo
Really big goals and budgets and paying down loans.
Them that don't know him don't like him and them that do,
Sometimes won't know how to take him.
He ain't sweet, he's just different but his past won't let him,
Do things that make you think you're right.

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be Greebos
Don't let them charge credit or give them a loan.
Let them fall down and learn from such.
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be Greebos.
'Cos they'll never leave home just search for a loan
Even from someone they love.


Sorry, I have been resisting the temptation to do this since you first started this thread. I just finally caved....

This is an incredibly creative bit of lyrical rewrite.

Now I must ban you.

[Ceashels]

ROFLMAO

That is awesome!

[MissSeetonFan]

Thank you all for sharing. I don't know how I ended up being frugal. I had a good example and a (sort of) bad example in my parents, growing up. I think the biggest thing that stuck with me was one experience where my parents sat all of us kids down, pulled out some play money and went through the whole thing with us. This is what we take in in a month (they were self-employed so they used a low month) and rental income from house 1. I don't think they explained vendor payments or anything, just used net income.This is mortgage on house 1, house 2 that we pay out. This much in utilities. This much goes to groceries. This much to gas. This much to cc. I think taxes were thrown in there as well because of monthly payments instead of paying quarterly.

We saw all the money go very, very quickly. I think we may have even been negative at the end. The lesson helped us not want, want, want all the time as kids often do.

[mamachop]

Thank you for sharing! With two kids of my own and our current uncertain economic conditions, I feel a strong need
to educate them about finances early.

[moasmom]

This is a really great post, and lots of food for thought. I was also not raised with any money management skills whatsoever. Now obviously, as an adult, it's absolutely my own responsibility to fix my mistakes, but I can't help but wish I had learned all of this stuff as I was growing up.

Those of you who were taught frugal skills at a young age, be very, very thankful.

Kara

[Minner77]

Say what now???

No, seriously! It takes just the right tone. You mean it, for the right reasons, and you say it well. No personal offense.

THAT said, something tells me you'd appreciate another of my dad's sayings: Whenever someone told him he was incorrigible, he'd say, "Thank you!"

March on!

[celina]

Minner 77 is right..sometimes i just want to shout and some posters...but refrain..you manage to try to help..even if ignored and not cyber slap them up side the head...

as to the post...mom was awesome with money could make a penny weap....and dad was a total spender..parents divorced...my treat was when i saw dad, i got every single thing i wanted shopping spree...he even let me spoil my mom too...(he could afford it)

so i know to be frugal...yet i still tie reward/feeling good to material stuff..and struggle with that ALL THE TIME...also giving to others makes me soooo happy....

dh's mom wrote his paychecks..so deposited half in an act he couldnt touch for school and gave him the other half to blow..so he'd spend ALL his cheque..and never did the savings work..so yes his schoolig was paid for..but took forever to break the spend the whole cheque habit...so i'm not sure she did him a long term favour....

we desperately want to teach our kids right..but i think all we can do as parents is teach and pray..some will abide...some will rebel and some will ignore...but at least we can say we TRIED...and as another who got bailed out way way WAY too often..let me tell all of you, IT DOES ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD!!!

[ravenmaniac]

I must say Greebo your "money" situation sounds very similar to my husband's and mine.

My husband's parents are very frugal but just like yours bailed him out of everything, and still will to this day, but never thought him a thing about managing money. My parents were terrible with money and never taught me a thing about managing money, my mother's parents were always bailing them out.

I have always had frugal tendencies so it was very easy for me to change and grasp the money concept. To this day it is hard for my husband (45) to grasp the concept of money. He is getting better and sometimes he does fantastic, then all of a sudden he turns into this little child who needs instant gratification.

I have always talked to my children about money and how it should be handled but they have not had the best example.

[TheRootedNomad]

I think that every parent should teach their kids about money, but I don't think that parents should express their money fears to their children.

I was raised by a single mother and we always managed to get by, and never went without food or electricity or clothing, but she never withheld any information from us, and I remember being very scared about the lack of money - and I don't think that's fair to do to a child.

We don't generally talk about emotions connected to money with our children. We do let them know when money is tight for us and what this means as far as prioritizing spending. We also try to tell them the cost of things both in terms of an actual number and sometimes in actual time worked for value. Like when my son asks why we haven't bought the new flooring yet. I told him roughly how much that we've priced it out for and that we're not ready to lay out aproximately 4 weeks of me going to work to get new flooring. That I would continue to wait and look and hopefully find a better price.

[Minner77]

[QUOTE=celina;1480005

we desperately want to teach our kids right..but i think all we can do as parents is teach and pray..some will abide...some will rebel and some will ignore...but at least we can say we TRIED...and as another who got bailed out way way WAY too often..let me tell all of you, IT DOES ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD!!![/QUOTE]

Amen! I absolutely agree.

[cottageliving]

LOL!!! I was laughing out loud at the lyrics, but totally lost it at the last line in Greebo's response.



Thank you all so much -- I LOVE FV