How does Money Shape People's Upbringing?

How much do our environment, background, and exposure to money affect our financial understanding later in life?

Unsurprisingly, everyone's environment and upbringing are different. How we all view money stems a lot from our experiences and the conditions in which we grow up. Several factors could have impacted this ranging from one's birth order, socioeconomic background, and other environmental circumstances that they are present in. There is only so much that we can do when we are affected by these factors growing up, as many habits are ingrained in us, and not many of us are aware of the further consequences it will have on us and our views until we age.

Factors that affect our upbringing and views on money

The trends with how money has shaped different people can vary, but there are usually some patterns with the main factors having significant impacts. For example, I have noticed that our work experiences growing up are essential money drivers. People with experience in various fields working for their own income from a younger age are usually much smarter with their finances than those with little to no work experience and rely solely on their parents whilst growing up. Once children know how hard it is to make their own money, they gradually learn more about handling their finances and have a stronger drive within themselves to earn more by working more.

Our environment has a massive impact on us growing up. When it comes to our views on money, those who are raised in a more comfortable and wealthy environment are usually most likely to spend a lot and become less careful with their finances as they have got so used to having people around them that they can rely on if they don't manage their money well. On the other hand, people who have grown up in a more challenging environment where there wasn't a stable source of income and didn't have many people whom they could financially rely on are usually much more careful with how they handle their money.

The environment in which we surround ourselves can also significantly impact everyone's varying views of money. For example, those from a very disadvantaged background might often have a negative outlook on money as it is something they are usually not well-educated on and therefore need help understanding how to use it well - especially on a larger scale.

How we can help change people's views?

Regardless of what everyone's upbringing was like, it's essential to create a positive mindset for children about their outlook on money and how they can have a healthy relationship with handling their finances if they have been at a disadvantage or struggled in the past. This can be done by schools helping to bring awareness of the topic through PSHE lessons at a young age. In this way, children will have a better understanding and awareness of the real-world expenses they will eventually face and can benefit from those lessons. Additionally, this could encourage more children to be willing to find a part-time job and start earning at a younger age.

Many parents don't like sharing their financial situations with their children for several reasons. First, though, more parents became more open about finances and allowed their children to gain exposure to real-life situations. In that case, it can help them develop healthy relationships and gain a better perspective on money from a younger age.

Another way is if we surround ourselves with intelligent people who know how to earn and handle their money well, we are more likely to become inspired by them and more easily influenced to achieve similar goals by adapting some of our habits and learning from them.

At the end of the day, so many factors can shape and determine how we view and handle money differently. Our childhood experience is one of the biggest influences that shape our views on money growing up. As long as we become more financially aware and help others how to budget their finances, and have a positive outlook on finding ways to earn and become comfortable with what we have - that is all that matters. Many of us dream of making high salaries and often start stressing when we aren't earning anywhere near what we desire. So it is essential to remember to enjoy what we have and know how to make the most of our finances.