Best Money Advice From Dad - 55 Bloggers Share

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Father’s Day is just around the corner! And if you’re anything like us, you’ve probably had dear-old-dad (or another father-figure in your life) and the many lessons he has taught you on your mind lately. From an early age, we look to our fathers for advice on just about everything, including money.

My wife and I have received great financial advice from our dads over the years. Both have demonstrated the power of a strong work ethic and sound financial strategies while genuinely striving to help their kids avoid making the same mistakes they made with money.

If we’re being honest, we owe most of our successes to the influence our fathers provided. After all, countless studies have shown what we all know to be true: the more involved a dad is, the more successful his children will be in life.

In celebration of Father’s Day—and father-figures everywhere—we asked 55 bloggers to share their best money advice from dad. The results vary from simple to profound, but if one thing is certain, it’s this: there are plenty of smart, money-minded dads out there!

Without further adieu, here is a look at our collection of the best financial advice from fathers as reported by expert bloggers.

Rosemarie Groner – The Busy Budgeter

My Dad told me over and over again growing up to always max out my deferred comp. His parents had died when he was a teenager and hadn’t realized how important it was until he was much older and had to struggle to catch up. I’ve been maxing out my deferred comp since my very first job at 18 and have a healthy retirement to show for it!

Kelan Kline – The Savvy Couple

My dad was always incredible at teaching with everything in life from repairing small motors, learning how to drive, and most importantly how to manage money and build wealth. From a young age we were given chores and an allowance to be responsible for. Each week he would take 20% off our earnings and deposit it into a savings account for us. This simple action helped me understand the importance of budgeting and investing, and I am forever grateful for it.

Andrew Daniels – Millennial Homeowner

The best advice was to never go into credit card debt. From the day I got my first card, my father put the fear of credit card debt (and all other debt) into me and it’s helped me be debt adverse my whole life.

R.J. Weiss, CFP – The Ways to Wealth

The best money advice I received from my own father was that it’s not only OK to change careers but you’ll likely have to try a lot of different things to find out what’s best for you. I put a lot of self-imposed pressure on myself to take over the family business, but at the end of the day, that business wasn’t something that fulfilled me. My father was very supportive of my decision and really encouraged me to go out and find something that does excite me.

Logan Allec – Money Done Right

When I was a kid, my dad asked me a question: “If, right now, I could give you $1,000,000 or a magical penny that doubled every day for 30 days, which would you choose?” My childish mind immediately choose the million cash. However, my dad then took the time to show me that a penny doubled daily for 30 days would actually end up amounting to over $5,000,000! This taught me to always look for ways that I could “double my pennies,” so to speak, and I think keeping that mentality in the years is what has always prompted me to invest as much as I can in the market.

Mike Pearson – Credit Takeoff

The best money advice I ever received from my dad was to set up a system to automatically invest money from my paycheck into a 401k account with every single paycheck. By investing automatically and relentlessly, it has had a tremendous impact on the way I think about saving and the powers of compound interest. And from a practical standpoint, my wife and I have seen our net worth grow 800% in the 6 years we’ve been following this advice. The trick is to just let it happen automatically and don’t even think about it—don’t worry about the ups & downs of the market, and don’t think about three money as being “lost” from your paycheck. If you automate your investments and never stop, you will have a sizable nest egg ready for you when you retire.

Allan Liwanag – The Practical Saver

When I was a kid, my dad told me “to always meet your needs first and, then, the wants when there is a leftover.” When I was growing, my family could only afford to feed us three times a day. We were 11 in the family including my mom and dad. My dad barely made enough to satisfy our needs. From that advice and the experiences, I learned to be frugal and watch my finances with a hawk’s eye. I learned to focus on my needs, and not fall into the temptation of buying new gadgets here and there, going on expensive vacations, etc. Even up to this day, I stay true to being the frugal person that I learned to be growing up. That’s the best money advice my father gave me.

Debbie Gartner – Healthy Savvy and Wise

My dad taught at a very early age about diversification. Both asset allocation and diversity of stocks/funds. I now apply the same principles to my blog so I diversity both income streams and sources of traffic. It has served me well to grow and stabilize my blog’s income.

Mike Greig – Ninja Budgeter

I learned a great lesson from an older family friend. He once told me to never finance something that goes down in value. While I haven’t been able to follow this advice all the time, it has guided a lot of my financial decisions over the years.

Russell Barbour – Stock Millionaires

My dad always taught me to never go into debt. This advice has saved me from potential financial ruin a few times! I have had several online and offline businesses fail miserably, but I survived because I never built them using debt to finance their growth. I know many people that have used debt to build businesses that are now in financial ruin. I am so glad that I listened to my dad!

Barbara Friedberg – Robo Advisor Pros

My Dad was my money inspiration. As a teen we would look at real estate to renovate and resell. He also introduced me to stock market investing. Despite my youthful protests, his wisdom inspired who I am today.

Tim Jordan – Atypical Finance

When I was 11, my dad went into the hospital to have a bone marrow transplant since he had contracted leukemia a few years earlier. I remember him telling my mom that if anything happened to him, she should use the life insurance money to pay off the house first before anything else. He ended up passing away a few months later and my mom did exactly what he encouraged her to do. Things were tight, but because of his advice we ALWAYS had a roof over our heads and felt safe. You can bet that because of his example protecting my family financially is a top priority for me.

Tana Williams – Debt Free Forties

My dad instilled the importance of side hustles and passive income on us from an early age. At the time, I didn’t realize that not everyone’s parents did so much work. My parents owned rentals, had a vending machine company, and worked full-time as an airline mechanic and secretary. He taught me that by diversifying our income, we could reach goals much faster as well and create a safety net if any of the revenue streams dried up.

Gary Weiner – Super Saving Tips

My father was more likely to act as a model for financial behavior rather than give advice, but the most significant advice he did give me was to pay extra money towards the principal of my mortgage to try to eliminate the debt as quickly as I could. Having that extra money go towards a concrete goal such as the biggest single debt anyone ever deals with is something that everyone should consider when they are in a position to do something about it. Although I haven’t been able to eliminate my mortgage yet, I have made extra payments towards that goal which has shaved years and saved thousands of dollars off the total.

Daniel Kopp – Wise Stewardship FP

The best fatherly financial advice was his frequent motto of “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” This was also lived out from my dad’s personal example over his lifetime of careful financial decisions. He was frugal yet generous, focused yet balanced, in enjoying the moments and planning for the future.

Bill Young – Common Cents Hub

My dad didn’t offer a lot of verbal money advice, but as Clarence Kelland said, “My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” I remember him buying a smaller home than the bank said he could afford, and remodeled it as he had the cash – usually by himself. He never did a project without calling me over to show me what he was doing. I’m reminded whenever my own son says, “Dad, how’d you learn how to do that?”

Linda Hannon – Real Family Finance

My best fatherly advice came from a good friend who taught me to only invest in things I know and understand. I watched him teach his daughter to invest in Coca Cola and Kelloggs (it was all about the Lucky Charms). Every time she personally drank Coke and ate her Lucky Charms she thought about her investments and if there was talk about changing the formula, she had an opinion. This advice has served me well. If I don’t understand the underlying business and what drives it, I don’t invest or I go on a learning spree.

Jacqueline Gilchrist – Mom Money Map

This is advice from my grandfather who played a larger role in raising me than my dad did. My grandfather would often say, “Eat the eggs and not the chicken.” In other words, your goal should be to live on just your interest. Don’t touch your capital because you need it to make your interest.

Richmond Howard – PF Geeks

My dad taught me plenty about retirement and the importance of saving money early, but the one thing that has stuck with me from my dad and grandpa is the value of giving and generosity. Both of these men in my life have always been willing to help others, take care of those in need, and be involved in their communities. Saving money is important, but so is using it well.

Cyrus Vanover – Frugal Budgeter

The best financial advice I ever heard from my father was in regards to choosing your college major. He majored in economics and ended up working in a career that didn’t even require a college degree. There just isn’t much of a demand in the job market for many majors. The important takeaway was that I needed to major in something that led to a good-paying job. I ended up majoring in accounting.

Anna Bee – The Land of Milk and Money

The best financial advice I ever received from my dad was when I got my first job as a teenager. He showed me exactly how investing some of my burger-serving money each month could make me a ton in the long run – which is a lesson I continue to apply to this day (with a higher salary, thankfully). Unfortunately, this was the early 2000s and a recession was right around the corner, so dad unintentionally got to sneak in a bonus lesson as the value of my hard-earned cash fell through the floor: always hold when things get rough!

Clarissa Wilson – ClarissaWilson.com

My dad’s advice wasn’t actually spoken, I picked it up from watching his actions. The best advice was about financial responsibility. If you can’t pay something on time, then there is no point in making the investment. If you really don’t need it, then don’t buy it. If it isn’t going to change your life in some way, then you don’t need it. Save your money for when you do need it.

Jon Dulin – Money Smart Guides

When I graduated high school my Dad got me a summer job working in the factory he worked at. I started at 6am and had to wear jeans and steel toe boots and everyday it was 100+ degrees. The lesson was simple. If I don’t go to college, this is what my life is going to be and it is going to be tough to survive financially.

Thomas Uzuegbunem – Nurse Money Talk

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got about money from a mentor was to have an emergency fund as a “financial cushion.” I can’t tell you how many times that emergency fund has kept me from having to borrow money. Not to mention the financial peace it has given me in the middle of changing jobs or my car breaking down.

Drew DuBoff – DrewDuBoff.com

Before my grandfather passed away, the biggest thing he taught my dad was that you need to invest in your retirement. He was a kindergarten teacher and was fortunate to have good benefits and a pension through the school district that my grandmother still lives on today. My dad’s parents never had that kind of financial security. As a result of this advice, going to the Certified Financial Advisor is now a tradition my dad and I share every 6 months or so. He encouraged me to start investing in a Roth IRA when I was a freshman in college and I’ve been contributing monthly since. Now, my business contributes to that Roth IRA because I don’t want self-employment to be the reason why I don’t have an enjoyable retirement. I say all this to reinforce the idea of setting aside money for the future because you never know what will happen in between now and then.

Julie Rains – Investing to Thrive

When I was a kid, my dad showed me his mortgage passbook in which I could easily see how mortgage amortization worked. (This was in the days before personal computers and banks often used passbooks to record loans and savings account balances). We always had enough, including paid-for state university educations as the family prioritized education above all but he cautioned me to “save more than he did.” Combining the idea of compounding interest (basically mortgage amortization in reverse) and the need for saving, I put money in a savings account when I was in elementary school and investing in my early 20s — these lessons helped me reach financial freedom early in life.

Liv Cloud – Funding Cloud Nine

The best financial advice that I got from my dad was to save as much money as I possibly could for retirement. In fact, he would always tell me to try to save *more* than I thought I could save. So when I graduated college I did everything I could to funnel my money to my 401k and IRA. At the time, it was hard, and made me feel broker than broke. But today, ten years later, I couldn’t be more thankful for that advice and the financial security and possibilities that my retirement accounts provide.

Ruby Escalona – A Journey We Love

My dad died early (when I was 13), but he had put himself through college by working side gigs since he was 13, and was the first in his family to graduate university. He always said that I needed to be smart about my money, and to account for every single item that may go in and out of my bank account. He also taught me about frugality, and how we should always have enough to buy what we need, and a little bit of what we want. I’m still living the same frugal mindset life that he taught me as a child!

Kelly Morse – Montana Happy

My Dad insisted I pay my way through college myself. He said it would teach me frugal life lessons to start my adult journey. He was right!

Janet Stelly – A Couple of Stellys

Dad taught me how important it was to start saving for retirement at a young age. He would explain how the extra time of starting young instead of waiting until I was older would make a difference.

Cate Griffing – West Magnolia Charm

The best financial advice that I have ever received from a mentor was always have an emergency fund first before anything else. I will say that having a safety net has saved me from going into debt when the unexpected has happened.

Marjorie Dawson – Dash Kitten

My Dad always said “Do you need it? If not, it’s a reward. So, have you earned it yet?”

Lauren Mochizuki – Casa Mochi

My dad highly encouraged me to start saving 10% of my paycheck for retirement as soon as I became a professional. I yielded his advice from the moment I became a nurse’s assistant, and I continued saving when I became a nurse. When my husband and I decided to see a financial advisor, I finally checked my balance after several years. We were both shocked to see that I had saved $20,000+! I started saving since I was 21; I can’t wait to see what that account will be doing in my 50’s.

Grace Saunders – Luv Mi Home

The best financial advice I received from my dad is make sure you have adequate medical and health insurance. He always stated your body is very fragile and you could be one illness away from bankruptcy. He felt that an emergency fund might not be enough to cover your medical expenses.

Stephanie Schill – Wynning in Life

My dad is one of the fiscally savvy people I know. The best advice he gave me was to save consistently. Meaning, many people think they don’t have enough money to save or can’t find anything to put aside each month. But even if it’s $1, start there, and build the habit of saving. Once the habit is established, increase the amount as you are able.

Keesha Johnson – My Mission to Escape

My daddy stressed the importance of saving money because you just never knew what could happen. Before retiring from his appliance service technician job, he would consistently have money deducted from his paycheck for savings and bond investments. His huge sacrifice and commitment to saving put me through college without student loans. Based on what I learned from my father, I took advantage of payroll deductions for savings and investments when I started working in corporate America.

Brittney – Millennial Twist

My dad used to tell me all the time as a kid: “If you don’t need it and it’s on sale, then it’s too expensive”. When I was younger I just kind of rolled my eyes at this, but his advice has really saved me as an adult – I don’t buy anything I don’t truly need (okay, fine, I do splurge sometimes!).

Marissa – Simple Money Mom

When I was in middle school, my father would give me an allowance and tell me “This is what you get. Nothing more nothing less. Spend it, and you’ll have nothing left. Save it, and it might just grow on you.” I had absolutely no idea what it meant. Grow on me? Once I started saving my allowance, I got very fond of holding onto my money. I never spent it. I wanted it to myself, to hoard. I guess you could say, it grew on me. Ever since them, I’ve developed a love for saving. Now that I am an adult, my savings literally grows. Thanks to compound interest and big thanks to Dad!

Kathryn – Money and Mountains

My dad has been giving me money advice throughout my life. Some of his best advice and teaching was showing me how to invest in the stock market from a young age. His best words of wisdom were to never invest money you can’t afford to lose and to consistently put money in every month (dollar cost averaging) rather than trying to time the market. This has allowed me to be a more confident investor and not panic at drops in the stock market since I know I am in it for the long haul. Thanks dad!

Riley – Young and the Invested

My dad taught me to live well within my means and avoid overextending myself financially. He said this because you never know when a bad circumstance may befall you and result in job loss or your income drying up. He learned this firsthand when he worked in the oil field during the 1980s and an oil bust happened. His company laid him off one month before my older brother was born and left his young family without income for almost a year. This experience made my parents very conscientious of their cash reserves and ability to weather an economic downturn. Growing up, I could see their frugality and wise money decision-making regularly. I am fortunate to have picked up these habits and live by them in my own life.

Jonathan – Mr. Censible

My father knew the power and importance of compound interest and got me on the right financial path early. He opened a Roth IRA for me when I started college (this was back when Roth IRA was still very new) and “bribed” me by matching my contributions if I got good grades. At the time, I obviously had no idea about investing and saving for retirement, but you can sure bet I’m glad he did that for me now.

Simon – Pennies for the Piggy Bank

One of the best pieces of advice my Dad ever gave me was to learn how to do things yourself rather than always having to pay someone else. Main examples being simple car maintenance and home DIY. I’ve saved thousands by upgrading kitchens, tiling bathrooms and decorating myself.

Eric – High Five Dad

Scott – Making Momentum

My dad instilled some fundamental money lessons in myself and siblings from an early age that covered the spectrum of personal finances. From working hard to excel in your career, earning additional money on the side outside that career and living within your means in terms of housing and vehicles, the example he set laid the groundwork for his kids. He also always expressed the importance of “spending less on the things that don’t matter, so you can spend more on the things you love”. That has stuck with me to this day and continues to serve as the rudder for my spending habits.

Jarek – Time in the Market

My father tought me one main lesson that paved the way to good financial decisions in the long run. He grew up in Poland during a time of communist rule so it was not a time of plenty for him or his family. However, he learned early on that plenty wasn’t necessary to lead a happy life and as long as we had enough to get by, we could still be happy. He instilled that in me as a young child while I was still in Poland and continued to teach me those lessons even after we came to the states. He showed me that not having a ton didn’t mean you couldn’t live a full life and now that I’m older and have a better paying job, I continue to live with that mindset and that helps me save money and build a safer future for myself and my family. He did the same for us and I really appreciate that and the opportunities he gave us and the huge lesson he taught me. Money isn’t that important in the long run.

Jerry – Peerless Money Mentor

The best financial advice I received from my father was to practice stealth wealth. He told me instead of purchasing name brand clothing and cars, I should save my money. At the time, I was in highschool and wanted to fit in with my peers, so I ignored his sagacious advice. Now, I wish I would have listened to him. I would be so much farther along in my financial journey, but hindsight is 20/20.

Chhavi – Mrs. Daak Studio

The best financial advice my dad has given to me is diversification of income streams. Even if you have a great job that pays well, try to create more than 2-3 income sources for financial stability. You can invest in stock, real estate, or have a side hustle that creates passive income.

Jill – Five Senses of Living

The best financial advice my dad has given to me is that it’s OK to be different and I don’t have to keep up with the “Joneses.” He empowered me each and everyday to be happy with what my parents were able to provide for our family. To this day I respect the value of a dollar, I know the power of compound interest, know how to manage my money effectively and am looking forward to an early retirement.

Andrew – Wealthy Nickel

My dad was always conservative with money. Even though we were solidly middle class, we didn’t always get the latest and greatest toys that all our friends had, and we rarely went out to eat. His example taught me frugality at an early age, and that delayed gratification now paid dividends in the future.

Marc – Vital Dollar

My father taught me to manage money wisely and to not spend money that I don’t have. My parents never made a lot of money, but they always made the most of what they had through budgeting and discipline. My dad worked hard for our family and we always had everything we needed. He taught me not to buy anything with a credit card unless I could afford to pay it off at the end of the month. As a result, I’ve been able to avoid debt thanks to the lessons I learned while I was growing up.

Todd – Invested Wallet

My dad has always been on top of paying bills and saving money since has far back as I can remember. He instilled day one about the importance of staying on top of bills and staying organized, that way you’re building a great credit history and that you can find any of the bills easily if a payment issue came up. That has stayed with me since I’ve had a credit card at 18 and with being meticulous when it comes to paying bills on time. All of that has led me to maintain a very high credit score throughout my early 20s to present and have perfect payment record, which has allowed me to get great interest on loans and easily approved for apartments.

Enoch – Savvy New Canadians

I have a long list of great money ideas from my dad. One of the best ones that have served me well is “don’t spend money you don’t have.” This was his reference to staying away from credit cards and debt in general.

Joy – Dollar Financials

The best money advice I received from my dad was that “it is never too early to start saving and investing, and to live on less than I earned.” This advice has worked for me and helped me build a solid financial foundation. I have been able to stay out of debt and save/invest 15-25% of my earnings since graduating high school.

Emma – Tupenny’s Fireplace

My Dad role-modeled making his money work harder. We had regular holidays but not like others – wild camping in February in wind-swept Britain! He encouraged me to know the value of everything I bought and only to buy if I truly needed it. I owe him my focus on Needs vs. wants which has allowed me to retire 17 years early, on a moderate income.

Swafti – Hear Me Folks

My dad is my superhero! There are many advices I can think of. But I choose to quote specifically these two – “Maintain a Monthly Balance Sheet”, and “Hard work always pays off.” The prior one helped cut down unnecessary expenditures, especially as a youngster and save enough to clear my personal loan. The latter helped me earn extra income through overtime.