An Ode to My Mom
Published: 2026-05-10
It’s Mother’s Day and I am dedicating this post to celebrate my mom! Without her, there would be no Money Wise Mom.
Everyone has a mother. Moms shape and influence us in so many ways. When I think about my mother, I’m grateful for the many lessons that she’s taught me.
How to Budget
I’ve had a budget for my entire adult life. No one had to teach me how to budget because I grew up watching my mom manage our household spending. She had this big white binder. She would pull it out periodically and sit with it at our kitchen table. I watched her scribbling away in it, totalling up household receipts. It was through her consistency and habit that I internalized the importance of tracking my spending.
How to Balance the Value of a Dollar
My dad used to say “A penny saved is a penny earned!”. He may have said it, but my mom lived it. She was the primary shopper raising three kids. We didn’t want for anything but she didn’t get silly buying brand name clothes either. If we wanted a new toy, we might try to work on her a bit. Sometimes we “won” but she also wasn’t shy to say no, or not right now, or we can’t afford it. But on the flip side, we always had plenty of gifts under our Christmas, we had school supply shopping every fall, and we went on some big family vacations. My brothers and I were in sports and extra curricular activities. We definitely were raised not to waste money, but money should be used as a part of a good life.
How to Meal Prep
I was often my mom’s helper at the grocery store. I remember her planning dinners and making lists before we shopped. I remember her prepping a week’s worth of sandwiches for my dad’s big metal work lunch box, which she packed every day. As I entered the work force, I always packed my lunches. Even to this day, my husband and I meal plan. It’s a habit that’s saved us heaps of money.
Eating out is a Treat
As a family, eating out was generally reserved for special occasions. Fast food might happen if we were on a family vacation. Restaurants might happen to celebrate a graduation or an anniversary. Reflecting on my life and those of my brothers, none of us eat out overly much. DoorDash is not a thing any of us really do.
How to be Resourceful
My mom is not afraid to pick up a hammer. She is not afraid to learn new things. She is hard working. She worked in the home raising kids and running the household. She ran a private home day care business for many years. I watched her navigate through life negotiating for what she wanted. She taught me what tenacity looks like. If something stood in her way, she often found a way around it. She was clever and resourceful and I know I get those qualities from her.
How to be Generous
My mother is incredibly generous and I see that she gets tremendous joy by helping others. I owe her a great deal for supporting me when I became a teenage mom. She came with me to my prenatal appointments and she cared for my daughter during week days so that I could finish my last semester of high school in class. She cared for foster children. She cared for her aging parents. She’s planned and funded major multi-family vacations, allowing our scattered families to come together and make wonderful memories. She makes beautiful handmade quilts, many of which she gives away.
Mom, Thank you for all the lessons you’ve taught me. They have served me well and I have, in turn, passed them on to my children. What a beautiful legacy.
Happy Mother’s Day!