My Dad’s Financial Legacy

My Dad’s Financial Legacy
For my inaugural post I wanted to share on the most important lesson that my Dad taught me about finances. Before I begin I want to state that I love my dad deeply and try to honor him, perhaps it’s what makes his financial shortcomings to me so heartbreaking. One of the ways that we as humans learn is through failures and were some parents teach their children financial responsibility through their actions I learned what not to do by my father’s. Indeed it’s my father’s continual lack of fiscal responsibility that has affected my thoughts on money the most and plays a part of my worldview.
My dad for as long as I can remember has always had stuffitis that always present need for more and better. Every couple of years without fail he wants to buy a new car, not that he always has the old one paid off or there is anything wrong with it, he simply wants newer and better. His stuffitis translates to all areas of his life needing new furniture, new vehicles, new everything as if somehow consumerism and buying something new will validate or give meaning to something, anything. Just recently my father was able to secure money from a court settlement case for an on the job injury, a large sum of money that any prudent person at his age would use to pay off any remaining debt and invest and use wisely for his retirement. Instead with his stuffitis he went and bought a new car, new furniture, and is remodeling his house that he hasn’t finished paying off.
My father it pains me to say it is a fool. A couple years ago for Christmas I gave my father, Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace shortly after returning home when I noticed that it took about the time for me to write him a check for him to go and spend it. One of the wasteful practices my father does is buy tons of food. A large percentage of food in developed nations is just thrown away because we buy so much food, but we don’t use it. In my dad’s case he has a stocked pantry, and has bought an extra freezer to just store more. Now this extra storing I don’t mind in some cases like if you hunt, an extra storage could make sense. What makes no sense is to buy food to just store it and never eat it. Although he tells me he read, “Financial Peace” I find it hard to believe when he doesn’t apply the concepts.
When we read something it can be for various reasons, but with nonfiction I believe we should always ask, “How do these concepts affect me?” It makes very little sense to read a pearl of wisdom and than to not try to apply it to our lives. If one just reads a religious text for example, but does not follow it’s edicts than one can see how others can doubt the usefulness of the religious text.
With my dad’s stuffitis though perhaps I should have known better than to think that me giving him a book or mentioning to him how I think he is careless with money would change the ways he handles it. At this point in my life I know that eventually he will squander away what money he has and that my brother and I will have to take care of him in old age with him leaving behind nothing, but a valuable lesson in what not to do. Our stuffitis should never be what we are known for. I hope when one thinks of me that they think of the good that I left behind, not the things which I can’t take with me. In Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth he discusses the importance of dispersing one’s wealth while they are alive. When one is dead it’s too late to go back and change things and no matter how much one accumulates you can never take it with you in the end.
Sadly the adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” seems to apply to well with my father. My dad has been bankrupt several times. My mom and dad accrued massive amounts of credit card debt before they went through a divorce and bankruptcy. My advise for those that have loved one with stuffitis is to not enable them. They will spend money, it will not make sense, be sane or help them in any way. Limit the credit you give them and don’t give them more money than what they need for essentials. For those that are young seek wisdom in your finances and live a life of financial responsibility. Your future wealth depends on it. I might never be a wealthy man, but by being fiscally responsible I will hopefully never be in need. For those that you know that don’t know about fiscal responsibility, but are willing to be responsible spend the time and help lead them down the road.