I was inspired by this article to give a proper shout out to my parents. Thank you Mom and Dad for everything you taught me from as far back as I can remember. You are the reason I love personal finance and have never had to deal with high interest debt.

Okay, no more mushy stuff, I promise. The article above has a great 15 item list, but I really honed in on these points:

• Only spend what you earn.
• Only allow yourself to spend 50% of that.
• Guide and advise but don’t dictate your kids’ spending.
• At some point, cut your kids off.

I’d also like to add these specific suggestions since they either helped me or people I know:

• Help your kids open a banking account…having my own account spurred me to save.
• Teach your kids how to balance a checkbook and what those numbers mean.
• Have fun going over compound interest…I loved learning what my money could do.
• Explain debt’s consequences…this works best if they already know about compound interest.
• Introduce investment ideas…my mom went over CDs with me when I was 10. They help teach patience too.
• Quickly highlight what credit scores are and what they’re good for.

I know my parents taught me way more than what’s listed above, but I honestly don’t think there’s enough memory space for all of it. What big points did I miss? Do you disagree with any of the points above?