I vividly remember the day someone came to give a talk about retirement planning and 401(k)s at my first corporate job. He asked us, “Does anyone know what percentage of income the average American saved last year?” No one spoke. He answered: “Negative 1%.” The average American spent 101% of what they earned. That blew my mind. We didn’t talk about money too much growing up but she did teach me to spend less than I earn, and to save for a rainy day, or a sunny day. Thanks Mom.