Money management advice from mom
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Live within your means
My parents were a good example of fiscal responsibility. They always lived well within their means and saved as much as they could. They were do-it yourselfers (probably before it was in vogue). We were taught how to do many things that people today have to pay someone else to do. We learned from their example.

As a result, even though we don't have a large income, my husband (who also had the same kind of upbringing), myself and our family has been blessed to live a very comfortable lifestyle.
-- Pat Trapane

Learn about money.
My parents gave me four gifts to get me financially grounded as a kid:

1. They taught me the difference between saving vs. investing. I lost my initial stock market investment (of $240 after about 24 months), but I learned so much about how Wall Street functions!
2. They taught me money doesn't grow on trees, but there are wiser ways to earn money ... you can earn money through physical labor, but you can also make money through wise investing, loans to my brother with interest, etc.
3. They made me work to help defray costs for my college education ... it made me study harder and this also kept me from partying too much.
4. They taught me about market elasticity (not in those words) as I established a budget and then went shopping for my "needs" (which were really "wants" in most cases). I learned that I could buy a brand name, pay twice as much, or buy generic items and stretch my dollars.

Today, I'm diversified in my portfolio, financially quite comfortable and enjoy making monetary decisions. That's what I call being empowered for life!
-- Lori Roberts, Atlanta

Save some money for a rainy day
My mom took 10 percent of every check I got from the time I got my first job bussing tables when I was 15 to the time I left their house. I figured she was buying food, clothes, heat/electricity ... never really questioned it.

The summer I graduated from high school, I was just keeping temporary jobs until I left for college. When I was at my brokest during that summer, my mom presented me with an envelope full of money.

I thought she was being exceptionally generous, but she told me she had taken that 10 percent of every check, and put it in an envelope in her sock drawer. Turns out she had done that for my four older siblings as well -- and no one ever shared the secret!

So I got a quick and easy lesson on the payoffs of saving money!

I now own three properties, my primary and two rentals, and am on track to semi-retire at 48!

Thanks, Mom and Dad!
-- Gina Helart, Colorado