Why do we need to dig deep into our childhood money memory?

What is your childhood money memory? What is your CMM? What’s the importance of digging into it? Kailangan pa bang ungkatin yan? 

If you want to build something high, what do you do?

You make sure that your foundation is sound. The higher the structure you want to build, the deeper your foundation should be, right? It’s the same with our FQ (Financial Quotient). The higher we want our FQ to be, the deeper we should dig into our childhood money memory lane.

I wouldn’t suggest that you start investing just yet until you truly understand your current relationship with money. And the key to understanding this is to go down your money memory lane and unpack those family money stories, your CMM (Childhood Money Memory).

What did you hear your parents say about money? Did you always hear them say, “Mahirap kitain ang pera!” “Huwag kang gastang-pulbos!” Or did you hear them say, “As long as you’re willing to work hard, the money will follow?” Or was money a taboo topic at home? Were you raised to consider it in poor taste to talk about money at the dinner table? Was it a stressful topic between your parents? Was money an elephant in the room that no one dared to talk about?

In our FQ Workshops, the CMM activity is always a favorite, a highlight, and an eye-opener for the participants. They end up discovering how all these childhood money stories affected their current relationship with money. The activity is always filled with both tears and laughter. 

Here’s an example from a participant years ago who shared her CMM. I wish to share it here because it is very typical Pinoy and resonates well with a lot of our kababayans.

'OFW ang Papa ko'

“OFW yong Papa ko. Engineer siya sa Saudi Arabia at malakas din ang kita nya noon. Umuuwi sya halos kada-taon. Lagi syang maraming dalang pasalubong. Pakiramdam ko mayaman kami. Tapos yong mga kamag-anak namin, nagpupuntahan din sa amin pag dumadating sya. May mga pasalubong din sila. Parang bidang-bida si Papa, gustung-gusto sya ng mga kamag-anak namin. Marami syang natulungan sa kanila.
 
Nang matapos ang kontrata ni Papa sa Saudi, umuwi siya at tuwang-tuwa kaming lahat. Pero makaraan ang ilang buwan parang naging malungkot si Papa. Nalaman kong naubos pala lahat ng kinita niya. Hindi sya nakapagtabi. Napamigay, napautang.

Naaalala ko ‘yong pakiramdam ko noon. Naramdaman kong ang bilis pala maubos ng pera. Ngayon, parang takot akong  maubusan din ako ng pera. Takot akong magpautang sa mga kamag-anak. Parang naiiisip ko na itong kamag-anak na ito mabait lang ito habang may kailangan sa akin at may pera ako. Pero pag wala na, mawawala rin, gaya nong mga ibang kamag-anak naming naglaho noong si Papa naman ang may kailangan sa kanila.

If you want to go through this CMM activity, you may do so by going to Chapter 4: The Foundation: Let’s Dig Deeper of FQ Book 1, "FQ: The nth Intelligence". The chapter has guide questions to help you recall those stories that you may have knowingly or unknowingly buried to be forgotten. Unearthing them may make you uncomfortable but I promise, it will be a cathartic exercise for you. It will help you release and let go of something and most importantly, it will help you understand your current relationship with money, giving you that sound foundation in building your high FQ.

If you want to hear the CMMs of celebrities, finance and business personalities, you may head on to FQ Mom Youtube Channel and click Childhood Money Memory Playlist. In fact, because I am so big on this topic, chances are you are bound to hear the CMM of all the people I have interviewed, and not just those in this playlist.

I do hope that you also do the exercise so you can be sure that the foundation of your high FQ is deep and sound.

Cheers to high FQ!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Do your own Childhood Money Memory exercise and understand your relationship with money, on your way to a high FQ. It’s in Chapter 4 of "FQ: The nth Intelligence". Grab your copy now. 

2. As we celebrate Buwan Ng Wika this August, we are having a buy 1 – take 1 free promo for our Tagalog book, "Ang Muling Pagsasalaysay ng Ang Pinakamayamang Tao sa Babilonya". Click here to get your copy. 

3. How good are you with money? Do you want to know your FQ score? Take the FQ test and get hold of your finances now. Scan the QR code or click FQ test.

4. After the test, make them understand the basic laws of money, understand their relationship with money, including their own money biases, so they can improve their FQ, their money knowledge and behavior. Give them the gift of any or all of the FQ Books. Click here.

This article is also published in FQMom.com.