Avoiding Debt (Learn from your parent's mistakes)

My Parents were 18 & 17 when they got married. My dad was a food vendor and made a lot of money. He was the youngest of 14 and lacked any guidance in the financial field. He didn’t have a bank account and mostly carried all of the cash he made, in his pocket. That lead to excessive spending and they were always running out of money. He then had to borrow money from my aunts or uncles to pay some bills, and then borrow again to pay the person whom he borrowed from the first time.  Keep in mind that my parents were young adults, college age like today’s kids.  Thankfully I was 23 when I married my beautiful wife, and I had a bank account. I am very grateful that they taught me to work hard and respect people. I am focusing on their financial mistakes, not the other mistakes, the ones we all make.  I am going to share some tips on how to avoid your parent’s financial mistakes:

 

·         Don’t get married at 18 years old.

·         Open a savings account.

·         Don’t have kids before college.

·         Don’t carry all of your money in your pocket.

 

Here is an article advising how to avoid our parent’s financial mistakes:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/avoid-these-10-money-mistakes-your-parents-made-2012-05-09
John Pelletier. Avoiding These 10 Money Mistakes Your parents make. Market Watch. May 9, 2012