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Happy Mother's Day to all our girls out there! We celebrated Mom and Money all week here at NLL, and thought it would be appropriate to do a quick round up of other mom posts today:

Back in Skinny Jeans has this funny video paying tribute to moms on the playground (check yourself...)

Rich Minx shares a Mother's Day money memory...

Start Up Princess features Mom Entrepreneurs inspiring would-be Mom Entrepreneurs...

Freakonmics shares about the power of Mom's Influence...

Businessweek has an article about MBA Moms and how they are handling school and family...

Summertime and my mother are synonymous for a plethora of reasons. Mostly because it was during this time that I learned life's important lessons that were by far the most paramount to the academic ones I was being fed the other 9 months of the year.

Some of these key learning opportunities included the time she silenced my older sister and on a I family road trip to Atlanta from quibbling over hunger pains by splitting an apple in half with her bare hands.( An amazing party trick that still has our jaw dropping in our adult years. I addition, I have attempted to try to replicate it only to nearly loose a digit! ).

My mother was always a maven for making much out of very little. A prime example of this talent was her brilliant negotiating tactic of bartering for my private education by availing her culinary skills to my grammar school. However, the magic trick that saved my derriere throughout college and currently now as an adult is the "five buck wonder".

The summer before my fifth grade year turned out to be the most financially challenging for many reasons, despite this circumstance my mother's exemplary "steel magnolia" fashion proved to enrich my life for years to follow. My mother and I needed to buy groceries and while the major bills of mortgage and utilities had been paid through the summer we still needed to eat.

Between the two of us, we had five dollars that we were able to round up. We trekked up the street to the bus stop because our transportation was sometimes not as reliable as we would have desired. Armed with bus passes, my mother's coupon pouch and five dollars in hand, we proceeded to our local Save n Pack. In my mind I was only anticipating a loaf of bread, jelly and peanut butter, but as I learned that summer and continue to appreciate more and more, my mother had plans that were beyond my expectation.

To my amazement we walked away with cereal, bananas and milk( due to a coupon that allowed for a free half gallon of milk and 1 lb of bananas with the purchase of a particular store brand cereal) , a package of leg quarters, a loaf of bread and 2 rolls of paper towels ( buy one get one free). I can remember leaving the store and feeling like the folks in the famous biblical parable where the loaf of bread and fish were divided among thousands.

Vivid to this day the teaching challenges me to convey its value to my daughter. She is three and already is learning about saving but most importantly even earlier than I about cost and budgeting. Just as my mother taught me on that summer day, occasionally we enter the store with only the money in mommy's pocket…$5, $10 or $20. Our game is to stay within that budget and even try to get change back. The change she gets to put in her piggy bank.

I am grateful for this lesson more than my mother will ever know. And that is to know that wealth doesn't come from denying ourselves of our needs but learning how to maximizing the potential of obtaining them by being creative with the resources to which we already have access.

I thought it was appropriate to post our girl Amanda's post Mom and Money on our "Mom and Money" Week here at NLL! She lists the tips from mom she found on Bankrate.com and threw in her own "two cents" as well! (<----PF Blogger Joke)

10 choice 'momisms'

1. "Have a place for everything, and everything in its place."
2. "Don't be late."
3. "You can do anything if you set your mind to it."
4. "Know your own value."
5. "Do your homework!"
6. "Practice, practice, practice."
7. "Don't be afraid to ask for help."
8. "Take your time, and check your facts."
9. "Be yourself."
10. "There's more to life than money."

Man, I could write my own commentary on each of these! How about you? Thoughts on any of these?

1) I'm just a girl... (We're not afraid to say, "I don't know", are willing to ask for help, and have much less ego.)
2) Moms are great shoppers. (Instead of shopping for shoes or groceries, we learn to look for deals..assets that put money in our pockets instead of take money out!)
3) Moms get their hands on information...(We are very good at researching, and usually more risk averse, so we don't tend buy on the "hot tip".)
4) Mothers are nuturers. (Good at managing, improving properties and businesses, as well as nuturing social connections and circles.)
5) Mother's intuition. (Sometimes we just know...)

I could go on... any of you have more reasons you would like to share?

With Mother’s Day coming up (got my flowers ordered from the crazy busy florist and the card was sent snail mail a week ago), much has been written about Moms and Money. As MP Dunleavey at MSN Money states about women “Eight out of 13 have followed their mothers' example, even when it wasn't positive or profitable.”

So what if your Mom is terrible at managing money or what if you are a Mom and terrible at managing money or a much bigger or... what if your child is not a financial clone of yourself? Shockers.

Then take a leaf out of the ol’ school book. Ever notice how teachers change from year to year? Ever wonder why the same teacher doesn’t follow kids from grade to grade? Or why college kids graduate with the influence of at least 50 different professors?

Well, that’s because different teachers have different skills (some are qualified to teach the lower grades, some specialize in the higher grades). They also have different teaching methods. Some are show and tell types. Some lecture. Some story tell. And then, there are the students. Every student learns differently. What works for one might not work for another.

So why is it that when it comes to a just as if not more important subject, personal finance, our Moms and Dads are supposed to be the “perfect” teacher for each and every one of us in each and every life stage?

Sounds darn silly, doesn’t it?

What’s the solution? Money mentors. Exposing kids to a variety of different financial role models.

At least, that’s what worked for me.

You see, my Mom is terrible at managing money. She admits it. She doesn’t own a home. She is in credit card debt up to her eyeballs. She spends every cent she has and then some. The best I can hope for at this point is her retiring with a zero net worth. Actually I would be thrilled if that happened.

Yet, as I mentioned in my Single Ma post, I consider her the reason why I’m financially fab. She, knowing full well that she was financially challenged, lined me up with a selection of financial mentors. There were a couple false starts, personality issues (I was not exactly a saintly child) but I hooked up with one couple whose success I could copy (for a while and then I got bumped up to a higher financial level).

Do I credit them with my financial success? Partially but mostly I credit my Mom…for having the guts to admit she wasn’t perfect (which ironically made her more perfect in my eyes).

Yesterday, we addressed some of the money myths we may have learned from our moms. So today as promised, we are going to talk about how to break away from the female stereotypes when it comes to money.

Kim Kiyosaki writes in her book Rich Woman about busting our of old stereotypes:

"It is no longer a valid excuse to say, 'I'm not good with money,' or 'I don't know anything about investing.' The past doesn't matter at this point. What does matter is the choice you make today.

As best I can see there are two choices:

1) Accept that you have no place in the world of money and investing - be content balancing a checkbook and paying the family bills.

OR

2) Choose to take control of your financial life. Know that your financial future is up to you and no one else. Get smart with your money. Get prepared. Take action. And go make things happen.

This is the decision: Am I going to commit to do what it takes for my personal financial success...or not? If not, then I understand that I am agreeing to allow someone else to be responsible for my financial well-being and accept the consequences that go along with that. If on the other hand, I am willing to commit, then it's time to put aside all excuses and get to work."

We believe that women should not set any limits to what we can or cannot do, especially when it comes to business, finance and investing (hence the name of our site!). So now that we know women and this week's focus particularly- mothers- can take control of our financial futures, tomorrow we'll talk about the Top Five Reasons Moms Make Great Investors!

I ran across this article on the Money Myths We Inherit From Mom.

Here is an abbreviated version of the article (you can read it in full here):
Money Myths We Inherit From Mom
Talking to women about how we manage money makes it clear that our mothers are powerful financial role models -- for better or worse.

How do women learn about money? Where do we get our habits, attitudes and expectations?

Writing about the Women in Red leads me to ponder these things. It gives me the chance to observe the way many women (and not just WIR members) manage their financial lives. Or not.

And the Not is what troubles me.

In past columns I've explored the financial influence of everything from one's innermost fears to the sitcom "Friends." But there's a larger force that looms in every woman's life: Mom.

Surgeon General's warning
Don't worry, I'm not about to skewer our mothers as the source of all money woes. Nor am I saying that women in general are financially clueless. Clearly, many women are making economic progress. And kudos to them! But as far as I can tell, this rising tide isn't lifting all boats...

In the six months or so I've been focusing on where my gender is at financially, I must have interviewed 50 or 60 women across the country. And what I see depresses me. Most women I've spoken with:

* Are worried about money.
* Don't feel in control of their finances.
* Wish they knew more about saving and investing, but "don't know where to start."

And a significant number either rely on someone else to manage their money or are waiting, hoping or praying for that to happen.

Your mother, your self
It's no secret that parents play a big role in your financial development. But Harvard psychologist Carol Kauffman, Ph.D., says that women get a slew of complex messages about money as they're growing up, specifically from their mothers.

"Unlike men, women who grew up in the '60s and '70s got mixed messages from their moms -- and from society -- about whether you were supposed to be in control of your finances or wait for your husband to do it."

What also became clear, as I interviewed 13 women on this topic, was that our mothers were powerful financial role models -- whether they planned to be or not. Eight out of 13 have followed their mothers' example, even when it wasn't positive or profitable.

Three more live financial lives in direct reaction to their mothers.

Only two women seemed moderately influenced by their moms, but had managed to craft their own financial way of life.

Mothers, daughters and money
Each mother-daughter relationship is unique (right, Mom?). Still, I noticed a few maternal archetypes and the financial impact they can have:

1) The coupon-clipping mom.

2) The extravagant mom.

3) The head-in-the-sand mom.

4) The financial-dynamo mom.

Coping with your mom's money messages
You may feel a mix of things about the financial example you got from your mom (or your dad -- but we'll tackle him in a later column). Here are some tips for working with inherited money habits:

* Acknowledge your mother's influence: Whether your mom was a positive role model or not, it's important to be aware of the ways you're following in her financial footsteps or trying to be the polar opposite.

* Skip the blame: Finger-pointing won't help your finances. Seeing yourself as a separate financial person will. Brice recently watched her mother make some impulsive, short-term money moves. "I was shocked. I may not have a lot to work with myself, but I'm gaining an understanding of how to manage money -- and I know she's not doing the right thing."

* Make your own choices: There's a tendency to forget that you're not stuck with what you're raised with. Like many of the women I spoke to, (especially Brice, Beth and Anna), I'm grateful for the money skills I got from my mom. But now we're realizing that we can be even more proactive about money. And what mother wouldn't want that for her daughter?

Tomorrow...more on how to break away from the female stereotypes when it comes to money and learn how to make different choices about your financial future!

Guy Kawasaki had a great blog post, just in time for Mother's Day, linking to an article about What Stay at Home Mothers Are Worth. I thought it was great- Guy has always been very respectful. However, after I started reading the comments, I was appalled. Their mothers and wives should be ashamed of some of them.

Here is an elaborated version of the comment I left in reply:

"The point of the article (done every year) is to show that there is monetary value to what stay at home mothers do... at no charge to the end users.

It is about respect for women who have chosen to stay home with their families. How about a little thankfulness? Obviously Guy has respect for mothers and the mother of his children.

Besides the survey doesn't factor in all it costs a woman to make the choice to be at home:lost experience and time at a career, lost retirement and other benefits that often accompany a job, and her own money from a job or career and all the investments, etc. she could have done with that money (to name a few things)- that is a hell of a lot more than $138K a year.

I have chosen to be a work from home mother- I have friends who stay at home and I have friends who have careers- the bottom line is is costs to be a woman and have children.

Not looking for sympathy or special help, but at least take a good hard look and acknowledge the women who made and make sacrifices like this everyday."

Agree? Disagree? I believe the internet has leveled the playing field, so women can stay at home and make their own money. However, whatever choice a mother makes should be acknowledged and respected, not for what she could theoretically make, but for what it has cost her to make that choice.