When I graduated from college and moved out of my off-campus apartment, my mother handed me a box shortly after I returned to my childhood home. I unwrapped the box, assuming it was some type of appliance for the second apartment I planned to get within a year after graduation. Inside of the box was a laptop computer. I looked from the computer to her and frowned.
“Can I sell this and get the money?” I asked her.
Her jaw dropped.
“I could use it to start paying my student loans,” I responded.
She shook her head. “Do what you want,” she said. “I just thought you’d like it.”
It was definitely my most ungrateful moment after receiving a gift. I meant no harm though, and my reaction was not altogether surprising to her. My mother knows I’m a spender more than a saver, only my spending thirst is to pay bills.
For the first 25 years of my life, I thought saving money was a useless activity. Why have money set aside in somebody’s bank or credit union when I could be paying off credit card bills and student loans? I equated 401(k), 403(b), certificate deposits (CDs), stocks and bonds to buying yellow bananas to watch them turn black.
Recommended Read: “5 lessons I learned as a first-time homebuyer”
This mindset is exactly why my mother gave me one piece of advice before I bought a home: “Let your mortgage company pay your property taxes. I already know you won’t hold onto that money.”
As a then-new homeowner, following her advice on that and allowing my mortgage company to pay my homeowners insurance were two of the best suggestions ever—for a struggling saver like me.