It’s not about how much money you make

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It’s not about how much money you make

The author, not pictured, taught her kids about financial wealth through investing.kate_sept2004/Getty Images

I watched my mother stretch every dollar, so I learned how to build real wealth.

I built a career in finance, learning to grow my money over time.

I now ensure my kids don’t worry about their salaries that much and instead save and invest.

I can still picture my mother sitting at the kitchen table, her hands methodically sorting through stacks of bills. There was a quiet rhythm to her work — writing out checks,

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, stretching every dollar to ensure there was enough for food, utilities, and the unexpected.

I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but I was watching something powerful unfold. My mother wasn’t just

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but ensuring our family stayed afloat.

We didn’t

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formally, but she taught me the importance of discipline, planning, and making every cent count through her actions.

Even though she made

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look effortless, I knew deep down that money was always tight. I watched her stress over unexpected expenses and worry when prices went up. My parents never made a lot, but somehow, we never went without.

As I got older, I realized that while my mother had mastered the art of stretching a dollar, what was missing was a pathway to

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— not just surviving but thriving. That realization set me on a journey that would define my life’s work.

I wanted to learn how to grow money, and that curiosity led me to a

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. After college, I started working as a stockbroker, stepping into a world where money wasn’t carefully stretched — it was something to be played with, risked, and multiplied for those who knew the rules.

Later, I became the director of budget for the city of Ocala, Florida, managing hundreds of millions of dollars. I had reached a level of financial success that my mother could never have imagined, yet I saw the same struggles she faced playing out on a larger scale.

I watched

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live paycheck to paycheck because they spent everything they made. I saw government budgets strained because no one had planned for inevitable downturns.

It didn’t matter if someone was handling household finances or corporate investments — the principles of financial control were the same. Without discipline and long-term strategy, the money disappeared.

I didn’t want my kids to learn about money the hard way, making

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before finally figuring it out in their 30s or 40s. I wanted them to start with the knowledge that took me years to acquire.

Story Continues

So, I sat them down and began teaching them the lessons my mother never had the opportunity to share — the ones I had spent my career learning.

I taught them that budgeting wasn’t just about survival; it was the foundation for everything else. I showed them how to build wealth, not just manage expenses. We talked about investing early, the power of compound interest, and how to create

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.

I didn’t want my kids to spend every dollar they earned. I explained that making more money wasn’t the key to wealth — keeping and growing it was.

I wanted them to understand that true financial success wasn’t about how much you made but how much you kept, invested, and allowed to grow over time. I told them to keep it simple at first and invest in low-cost index funds. They set it up on a monthly plan (dollar-cost averaging) to continually invest regardless of

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.

They started budgeting independently, opening investment accounts, and thinking strategically about money. Now that I have welcomed grandchildren into the world, I know my responsibility isn’t just to provide for them but to pass down the knowledge that can secure their futures.

I want my grandkids to see money not as a source of stress but as a tool that gives them choices. I want them to have the

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, explore, and take risks without financial fear. Most of all, I want them to understand that financial security isn’t something you stumble into; it’s something you build, one decision at a time.

The lessons I teach my children and grandchildren are the same ones I learned watching my mother at the kitchen table. The difference is that instead of just figuring out how to make it to the next paycheck, I can show them how to create a future in which work is optional, security is guaranteed, and financial freedom is theirs to claim.

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