With Father’s Day on the horizon, my thoughts turn naturally towards my Dad, and specifically (at least for this web site), how he handled his money.

My Dad was never a rich man. Even today, working only part-time (he is semi laid-off), he earns about $11/hour. That amounts to $22,000/year, assuming he’d be working a 40-hour work week- which he’s not.

My Dad has been earning his $11/hour wage for at least the last 13 years (he earned far less before 1996). And yet, both he and my Mom have, throughout the years, managed to buy 2 houses (simultaneously), completely pay off my college costs, provide me with a several thousand dollar wedding present, and buy me 2 cars. My Dad and my Mom held a mortgage for about 5 years before completely paying it off, they purchased another house on pure cash, and they currently have no debt.

How do they do it? It has taken me a long time to figure out their wisdom. My folks do not operate by the traditional "rules" of spending, especially traditional American spending. Here are just a few "oddities" of their money-savvy nature:

No credit cards or even checkbooks. Yep, my parents may be the last of their kind to officially have no credit cards, debit cards, bank cards, or checking accounts. They live on cash, and pay only in cash. When they have to pay large sums, they simply go to their local bank and have a bank check written out.

Owning nothing, not even a phone. When my folks were first married, they lived in a really bad neighborhood. So, whatever money they earned, they socked away for a future house in a better neighborhood. That meant no luxuries- no furniture, no car, not even a phone.

Becoming the jack-and jill-of-all-trades. My Dad can remove a fuel guage on a car’s fuel tank, reset an ignition coil on a furnace, and grow tomato plants from seeds. He can fish, pick wild mushrooms, and find his way around Zimbabwe (being the geography buff that he is).

Doing more- with less. Although we didn’t have a lot of cash when I was younger, my Dad and Mom always managed to take not one, but three, vacations a year. We’d go up north (back then, that meant Wisconsin) and spend our time fishing, visiting small towns, and berry-picking. We never stayed in a hotel, choosing to camp instead. And the "restaurant meals" we allowed ourselves were an occasional burger from Big Boy or an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen. Still, I was the only kid on my block who took tri-yearly vacations.

More and more, we are learning that how parents handle money affects their children long after they grow up and leave the house. Dads especially, because they are often the sole wage-earners, affect their children’s financial attitude when it comes to earning and sepending money. A father who is flippant about his cash, who takes on extraordinary debt, and who lapses on credit card and other payments is likely to pass on his carefless financial attitude to his kids.

If you are a father, I’m sure you want the best for your kids. And you certainly don’t want them wallowing in debt. So, do something nice for your kids today- stash away some of your cash into a bank account. Pay your kids an allowance- then have them use only allowance money on the stuff they crave (instead of your own cash). Tell your kids about the stocks you own and how much dividend you are collecting monthly. If nothing else, show your kids your weekly check stub and how the money is dispersed. It may make them reassess things before asking you for the next XBox.

Oh, and Happy Father’s Day (especially to you, Tatus!).