"You Told Me Not to Spend Money I Don’t Have"
The Best Birthday Gift I Didn't Expect
For years, I thought my daughter wasn’t listening to a word I said about money or she wasn’t noticing any of my finanincial behaviours.
Today, on her 17th birthday, she proved me wrong with just one sentence.
Birthdays are usually about giving presents, but this year, she gave me the biggest gift—proof that my words didn’t go unnoticed.
She had her eye on a pair of boots she really wanted, so I sent her a picture, expecting excitement. Instead, her response stopped me in my tracks:
"You told me not to spend money I don’t have, either you buy them and I pay you back next week or I’m happy to wait and let another pair find me when I have work again."
That response? That was the real gift.
She recognised that yes, it was her birthday, a time when spending could be justified. But instead of impulse buying or guilt-tripping me into covering it, she paused. She assessed. She made a responsible financial decision.
She didn’t just say, "It’s my birthday, I deserve it!" and throw financial sense out the window. She didn’t let impulse take over.
That’s financial maturity. That’s self-awareness. That’s a money mindset that breaks the cycle of reckless spending and regret.
Her birthday wasn’t about guilt or mindless indulgence. It was about celebration with control. And that is the kind of financial intelligence that rewires generational patterns.
I can’t even explain how much that meant to me.
The Legacy We Leave: Breaking Free from Generational Money Patterns
What do we really inherit from our parents?
It’s not just the colour of our eyes or the shape of our nose.
It’s their worries, their fears, their limiting beliefs, and—perhaps most frustratingly—their financial habits.
Most of us carry these inherited patterns into our lives without even realising it. We struggle, we stay blocked, we repeat the same cycles, and we wonder why we can’t seem to break free. Science backs this up—emotional patterns like scarcity, fear, and guilt around money don’t just magically appear in us; they’re passed down, sometimes for generations. If your parents or grandparents struggled financially, there’s a good chance you’ve unconsciously absorbed their money mindset too.
The Money Inheritance You Didn’t Ask For
Here’s a quick exercise:
Finish this sentence—"When I was growing up, money was…"
What comes to mind? Stressful? Absent? Fought over? Hard-earned? Easy-come-easy-go?
Whatever your answer is, there’s a high probability that money still feels that way for you today.
In my experience as a money coach, about 90% of people unknowingly recreate their parents’ financial experience, while only 10% actively rebel and rewrite their money story.
But here’s the good news: just because you inherited their story doesn’t mean you have to keep living it.
And you get to choose what legacy you pass down.
Do you want your children to inherit stress and scarcity or confidence and control?
Start by questioning your own beliefs:
What did you learn about money growing up?
How has that shaped your financial decisions?
What patterns are you passing on—consciously or not?
Challenge them.
Rewire them.
Because when you break the cycle, you don’t just change your life—you change generations after you.
So, tell me—what money story are you choosing to pass on?
If you’re ready to rewrite your financial story and pass down a new legacy, I can help.
Let’s work together!