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Financial lesson my Grandad taught me

This past Sunday, my beloved Grandad passed away. Whilst it has been a period of immense sadness for all the family, we have also had the opportunity to think about the good times and all the wonderful things he taught us.
My grandad was raised a Quaker, they were incredibly entrapenaurial, thrifty and philanthropic people. He carried his heritage with him throughout his life and it shaped the financial decisions he made and the lessons he taught my mum and I.




1. Save a big percentage of what you earn.

Unusual for their era, but my Granny was not a stay at home mother but a headmistress in a School. Her career was in many ways more reliable than Grandad's as a scale salesman. However, early on they decided that they could live off one income and instead save Granny's for retirement.

Doing this massively increased what they could save but it also helped to prepare them for when Granny became ill and had to retire early as they were not used to living off both incomes. It meant they were fully prepared for the cost of 30 years of retirement, where they could travel and enjoy activities they loved.

There was never any question but the only way to live was below your means, well below. Give yourself a big savings buffer because you will never know when a rainy day may occur.

2. Invest, Invest, Invest.

The power of inflation over time erodes the value of cash making investing it so important. Grandad loved to buy shares and did most of his adult life. He taught me the value of not being complacent about investing (he would check share prices EVERY day) and that in depth and thorough research should be done into a company before investing in them. Be intentional in where you invest your money and why you have chose to invest in that way.

I remember as a small child making a money box and I gave it to Grandad because I knew he loved to save. Every time I visited him after he would bring out the box and let me take home the pennies he had put in there. He taught me that to save, you need to purposeful and have a place you want that money to go (i.e the money box) because the pennies won't collect themselves.

3. Don't worry about the Jones.

Granny and Grandad could have chosen to move to a more affluent area, but instead (Warren Buffet style) chose to live in the same house they had always. Though they kept renovations to a minimum, but it always felt like a home. They never bought new cars, loved to use public transport, grew a lot of their own food and made much from scratch.  They're holidays were not fancy, but they were sure fun and filled with memories. Not once did I ever see Grandad compare his life to another, and I think this was key to his contentment.

Some might of thought they were too tight with money, but they taught my mum some valuable lessons. Her rent used to increase with inflation and phone calls were charged to the minute. When she left home and bought her first house with dad during an era of unprecedented interest rates, she had already learnt the powerful less of the power of inflation.

4. Give generously.

Especially as Grandad got older he became increasingly generous. He would always sponsor family doing good causes, even if he couldn't directly participate. He gave generously to those in need in India, after developing a passion for Yoga opened his eyes to the hardship the impoverished suffer.  The happiness in his life as he aged seemed to coincide with increased generosity.


Reflecting on the lessons he taught me, I am so grateful for his example. What lessons have your family before you taught you about money.

In honour of Harold Hey. 

1 comment

  1. Literally everything I know about finance was taught to me by my granddad. Which pretty much reiterates what your taught you! They were much wider back then.

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