Always Be Saving

The best financial advice I received was from my grandmother Big Mama, my guardian from when I was 4. When I was 14 and got my first job, as a tutor, she told me to save something from that paycheck—and every time I got paid. So all my working life, I have saved part of my pay. Every. Single. Paycheck. She made me a lifelong saver in good times and bad. My husband and I put our children through college with no debt, largely because of our saving habits. Lots of people look for a quick way to get rich. But my grandma was right: Save a little something from every paycheck and patiently grow your wealth.

—Michelle Singletary, nationally syndicated personal finance columnist for The Washington Post and author of What to Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits

Houses Are Like Spouses

My mother encouraged my sister and me to pursue careers that would help us create an independent identity from our spouses. Mom modeled this by becoming a teacher and then a Realtor. I remember hearing her trying to calm down her clients during the emotional process of buying or selling a home. One piece of her advice I always valued was “A house is like a spouse: There’s more than one for you in the world!”

—Jill Schlesinger, CBS News business analyst and author of The Great Money Reset

There’s Always a Way

In my 20s, I discovered that when my siblings and I were children, my mom had called up the local soccer league and asked if there was any way to waive the fees, since paying for multiple kids in a soccer league is expensive. They said, “Sure—if you chalk the fields before the games.” My mom did just that, so we could play soccer with uniforms and equipment. She taught me that there’s always a way.

—Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You to Be Rich

Invest for the Long Run

In the 1970s, my mother made a small investment in a stock mutual fund. She always talked about how it grew over time, and how she could tap some of it for major home improvements. It showed me the importance of being a lifelong investor.

—Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, president of the Charles Schwab Foundation

Respect the Budget

When I was a kid, I always complained about what my mom made for dinner. So she once told me, “Let’s see what you can do with this budget.” The week I was in charge, we ate hot dogs every night. And I quickly decided I did not want to eat hot dogs every day for the rest of my life. I think she wanted to teach me about the challenge of living within your means. But I learned a different lesson: how important it was for me to expand my means, not just live within them.

—Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad Poor Dad series of books