Happy Fathers' Day - Tammy may's video blog - September 2013 - Mybudget

Hi everyone How did you go with the Buy Nothing New Challenge last month? I loved reading your comments on the Forum and the MyBudget Facebook page. I have to say that I found it challenging. But it certainly makes you stop and think about how easy it can be to buy things that you don't really need. I hope you enjoyed the experience and saved a bit of money at the same time. This month I want to talk to you about my Dad. With Father's Day coming up, I thought it would be a good opportunity to reflect on the things that my Dad taught me about money. My Dad and I are quite close and I feel like I owe him a lot of thanks for the person I am today. I'm the oldest of four kids, I have three sisters and a brother. My Dad was a self-employed builder and he worked really hard to support our family. He was, and still is, a very practical and busy person but he's also very generous with his time and affection. I remember growing up that my Mum and Dad talked about money quite openly - if we couldn't afford something they would say so. We never had a lot of money, but I can't remember missing out on important things. Looking back, I realize now that they taught us a lot about setting priorities and saving for things that we really want. My dad was very supportive and encouraging of everything I did. I also really enjoyed helping him out with his business. From the age of about 13 to 16 he let me be his unofficial bookkeeper. I used to prepare invoices and write cheques for him. One time, I was so organised that I mailed out about 20 cheques before he had even had the chance to sign them. I remember he said something like "Oh well, you learn from your mistakes." And he was right. I've never sent off an unsigned cheque ever since. Anyway, I just want to say a special thank you to my Dad for loving me, supporting me, and letting me make little mistakes along the way. Best wishes to all the dads out there, I hope you have a great day on Sunday. Have a fantastic September and I'll see next month.