Mother Knows Best

Do you have a special stash for “me” time pedicures?

Thank your mother.

Various surveys show mothers have the greatest influence over shaping their children’s financial habits.

Nearly half of 18 to 24 year-olds see mom as their financial role model, according to a survey by CreditCard.com.

Good financial decisions impact us personally and professionally. For entrepreneurs, it can determine how much startup capital is available to you, if any. Many top women in the PINK community credit their moms with helping them make smart financial decisions. Here’s how:

“[My mother told me] once you finish college, you are on your own financially,” says Debbie Polishook, Senior Managing Director, Business Process Outsourcing at Accenture.

Polishook says, in retrospect, it was pretty good advice. “It certainly motivated me to figure out how I was going to earn a living!”

As a young child, Bridget McCarthy, Vice President, Category Commercialization, Coca-Cola, remembers her mom’s frequent chant, “put in and don’t take out.”

“When we were younger, we would take whatever money we had earned from chores and received as gifts and deposit it into the bank and we would chant ‘put in and don’t take out,'” says McCarthy.

This advice has made her find new ways to save as she gets older, whether through IRAs or 529 college plans for future children.

Thanks to mom, Kimberly-Clark B2B Global Procurement Lead, Angela Thomas-Anderson remembers to manage her finances in a way that “enables you to do something for yourself.”

“It is important for you [as a woman] to feel good and look good in order to take care of all of the other responsibilities we have as mothers, wives, sisters, executives, etc.,” says Thomas-Anderson.

Even when it comes to money, Mom says it best.

Bonus PINK Link: See why some women are making financial sacrifices in the name of “balance.”

Will you be in the New York area on May 15? Check out the 2nd Annual Women in Finance Awards presented by CFO.com.

What is the best financial advice you received from your mother?

By L. Nicole Williams

Nicole is the Editor at Little PINK Book. Follow her on Twitter @iamnicwill.

“Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.” Sandra Carey