Growing up my dad always drilled into me that I value money and money does not value me. Now that I am older, I see the wisdom in his words. Sure, Uncle Sam puts a value on me based on my income and net worth but at the core of who I am, I make the call as to what money means to me through my actions. Is it a means to an end? Does it mean security or a way to build self esteem? These are all questions we should ask ourselves.

We are told from a young age that we are to let the men in our lives handle everything, and this includes the area of personal finance. I am sure if we were to poll men and women; men got more personal finance lessons than we did growing up. That’s because they were/are expected to be head of the household, bread winners, make, count and spend the money and we we’re taught to let them handle all money matters.

Bankrate confirms this in their article “Men and women spend and save differently”:

“From birth, American women and men are raised to view and spend money quite differently. Our socialization, a trained behavior, is primarily modeled after our same-sex parent. While experts agree these generalizations are breaking down, here’s the money paradigm most of us have been dealt:

“Women, trained to nurture and seek acceptance, view money as a means to create a lifestyle. Women spend on things that enhance day-to-day living. Theirs is a now-money orientation.

· Men, trained to fix and provide, view money as a means to capture and accumulate value. Men don’t spend, they invest. Men don’t want something, they need it. Theirs is a future-money orientation.”

Many women get married never having that conversation with their husbands or partners about money. This has perhaps led to a revolution of sorts around women being more knowledgeable about the household finances.

What’s your relationship with money? What were you taught about it growing up?

Think about it.

Do you know your net worth?

Do you know the total dollar amount of your debts vs. assets?

Have you seen your latest 401k statement?

Where are your important financial records?

Who oversees the finances in your household?

What were you taught about these questions growing up or are you only recently considering these questions with the advent of Suze Orman, David Bach and the like?

It’s ok if you don’t know the answers to these questions, they were meant to be thought provoking and inspire action. Get your financial house in order and don’t wait for a tragedy or someone else to do it for you. Research and ask questions, the only stupid question is the one NOT being asked.