will always remember it, "Don't buy what you can't pay for in full." -- E. "Don't sneer at THRIFT, buddy!" -- Maria M. "It's not how much you make; it's what you do with what you make." -- Lance L. "Don't put 'good' money after 'bad.'" Now that I am older, I totally understand what he was saying. -- Joyce G. When I was a teenager working my first after-school job and received my first raise, I was elated and proud of myself. I couldn't wait to go home and tell my parents, knowing they would be proud of me. I'll never forget telling them. My father calmly sat there and said, "That's great. Now live like you never got it." I was befuddled. I asked what he meant, and he said that a lot of people get raises and then live like they got a much bigger raise than they did. He said they buy bigger houses, get a more expensive car, go on vacation, and before they know it, they've spent more than they actually earned and can afford. He said to always live like I never got the raise. Just stash it away. It was good, solid advice, and in today's economy, I think we all could apply it. ... That is if anyone is lucky enough these days to actually get a raise. However, even if we don't have a raise looming in our future, if we went back to living like we did before our last raises (or when we were first starting out) we just might be able to weather this economical storm a little better. Thanks, Dad, for the sound advice! -- Sue "You've got to spend less than you make!" -- Linda B. The best financial advice my father ever gave me is: Be austere and save money, and when you use it to buy something, don't waste it in things that depreciate, like cars; use it for something that gains value, like a house. When you start making money out of your investments is when you are ready to buy things you don't need (because your tenants will be paying for it, not you). Thanks to that advice I have what I have now and live a wonderful life. -- Austere When I was 15 years old, my father caught me smoking cigarettes. He said he wished that I wouldn't take up that habit because it was very expensive. It has been 30 years that I haven't smoked -- cigarettes were around 75 cents a pack, now they are over $2 or more. -- Della "Spend some and save some." I retired at 52, thanks to Dad. -- J. When I was a kid, I remember my dad saying, "Every time you step off your property, you end up spending money. Stay home and you automatically save." Now that my dad is retired, he once mentioned that he checks his online credit card and bank accounts every single day. Now, my life is way too busy with kids to check my online accounts every day, but I liked the basic idea of checking in on a much more regular basis on -- what I consider to be -- the reality of my accounts. -- Wendy I.  "We all get paid by the hour, but it depends how much you want to get paid in that hour. Hit them books hard." -- Jirema A. "Save a lot more than you spend and pay in cash." The latter part took a little more time to sink in. -- Greg J. My father gave me so much advice about money and about life. So, how does one isolate just a single piece of information from his 80 years of wisdom on this Earth? It is hard. I have to really sum up his ACTIONS to accurately reflect the "advice" dad gave me about money. I would have to say first and foremost of his money tips was to pay cash for the things you need/want or don't buy them. Be smart about the things you are buying. Find ways to save. Have a nest egg. Probably most importantly, have a plan. Life doesn't have one, so we should be prepared when things do not go our way. As I said earlier, it was dad's actions that inspired me well beyond his words. He was a high school graduate. He and my mom raised us three kids on one salary. We never NEEDED anything. We attended the best schools and colleges. Our parents gave to charity instead of expecting handouts. They paid for everything with cash in hand. It wasn't easy for them. It was a lot of late night and weekend work for pop. He took all of their extra money and invested smartly at each opportunity. At his passing four months ago, he and mother had assets, cash and investments valued at well over half a million dollars. I don't know how to really say the one definite piece of money advice from dad. Again, his examples of saving, hard work and investing were the largest factors in dad's financial stability. At nearly 40 years of age, I am debt-free and have approximately $150,000 in assets. My mom and dad are my heroes. There is a song that goes, "It's not what you take when you leave this world behind. It's