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I'm dyslexic and have always had problems with abstract math. I learned practical math at an alternative night school during high school to get my math credits. I loved accounting math. I also read the Dave Ramsey books and my cousin and her husband who did our premarital counseling explained a budget.

My dad started teaching me about the relative value of early saving/investment when I was super young. Like as soon as I grasped arithmetic, kind of young. I knew the importance of paying off your credit card every month before I really knew what a credit card was. It's totally due to him that I have stayed away from debt and been so proactive about saving in my early adult years. I'm lucky to have had that lesson.

My parents taught me a ton about being smart about finances.

I had my own savings account from an early age and had to learn how to balance my statements, fill out withdrawal/deposit slips, etc. I also got an investment account (mutual funds) as a teenager so was taught the importance of saving, about long-term investing, the value of compounding, etc.

They also taught me to never carry a balance on a credit card and to this day I have never not paid off my card in full each month (except for a 0% interest furniture buying deal). I don't buy things unless I already have the money in my account to pay for it.

All that said, I have said for years that schools should teach a course on budgeting, investing, retirement savings, compounding, etc. I think it should also include things like signing leases, buying homes, car purchases, and other such things. Basically a "life skills" course.

Um, the school of hard knocks?

@mrbee: that's even better! I hadn't thought about that!

I worked starting in hs, and helped pay for bills, so that taught me a whole lot about budgeting. Theres nothing like life experience to teach you a lesson.

Yep, school of hard knocks.

My parents have always (and still do) have massive financial problems. They literally never had any money to save or invest - we lived hand to mouth most of my childhood - and my parents declared bankruptcy when I was in high school. They even got audited at some point. It really sucked to grow up in our house.

I've had part time jobs since I was 16 and worked 3 jobs to get through college. Luckily, I had lots of scholarships and came out with relatively little college debt. Same for my brother. I guess because of that we've both had to learn how to save the hard way. I was also fortunate enough to marry someone who's always been frugal and good with money. Our only "setback" has been our massive law school loans, but we're aggressively paying them off.

Because of the incredible stress my parents' financial issues put on their marriage and our family, I was super crazy about budgeting and financial planning in premarital counseling. I went the total opposite of my parents and I'm super conservative when it comes to money. We seriously spent more time discussing financial planning our first year than just about anything else. We were familiar with Dave Ramsey, but went over it again together as a couple. It was so worth it - its such a relief to have that security in my life now. We do a monthly cash-based budget, save for retirement, save for our son's college fund, and are still able to help my folks out. We've literally never fought once about money in the almost 5 years we've been married and we constantly work on our financial literacy.

I will for sure be crazy about teaching all this stuff to our kids for sure!

When I was a kid my dad told me "it's better to be frugal than frivolous," and that stuck with me into adulthood. At the beginning of our relationship DH and I had quite a bit of debt together. We worked hard to get out of it and established a budget to help us do it. Since then we haven't wanted to go back. My MIL is the one who taught me about retirement savings and investments. We go to her for a lot of financial advice.

My parents taught me this starting at a young age. They always stressed how important it was to save for a rainy day and not spend all the money you have. Other practical things they did:
* My parents opened a bank account for me and helped me regularly deposit money from gifts or earned from chores (and showed me how the balance was growing due to the interest that accrued)
* We discussed the power of compounding interest -- in the context of working for and against you.
* At the store, we discussed coupons and buying things on sale (or forgoing items that weren't on sale!)
* In elementary school, we played stock market simulation games as a family (the local paper sponsored one annually).
* My parents helped me apply for my own credit card and helped me understand that 1. I should continue to pay it off each and every month (they checked in on me from time to time, even though I was 18+ at that point) and 2. explain that I needed to build my credit score so I could eventually be eligible for a mortgage.
* My parents steered me towards a university which they could afford and a major which had a clear path towards employment prospects. I'm eternally grateful I didn't have to learn this the hard way.

I think all of these cultivated a keen interest in healthy personal finances and I have continued my education as an adult by learning about how to save and grow my money.

My dad taught me all of this. The second that bill lands in your mail box you pay it. I try and follow that rule as best I can but sometimes it's not possible. We don't own credit cards and that helps a lot too. Overall he taught me not to spend what I don't have. DH's parents philosophy was "if you don't have the money, get a loan" yikes. We definitely have loans but not for things that aren't necessary (car, house). I'm thankful I was raised not to spend spend spend.

My dad! When DH and I got married he really encouraged us to set up a plan for paying off student loans, creating a budget, and saving.

@mrsrain: omg thank you! I was like... I can't be the only one that wasn't given guidance/ advice...

On my own through the years. I grew up with a single mother who didn't make much money, so there was very little to save or invest after the bills were paid.

In college! I took a family finance class that was very useful. After I was married I read some Dave Ramsay and Susie Oreman, I learned a lot from that. I plan to teach my children financial litteracy.

Honestly, no where. And I tink that's a big part of my problem now. Sure my parents opened up savings accounts for me and my sister when we were little, but as I recall, there was never any discussion about the importance of saving, how to do it, etc. I didn't really ever start learning about savings or credit cards until it was WAY too late. My step-dad is incredible with money, so when we have money questions now, he's the first person I go to. My husband has always been good with money, too, so he helps reign me in sometimes. But I definitely think we will have on-going conversations with our kids about money. I don't want them to end up like me - a hopeless spender who has no real understanding of the consequences of building up debt until it's too late and you're in way over your head...

My parents, for sure! They always drill into my the importance of savings and being frugal.