This week, I asked my daughter Allison if she would share her perspective on the plans Michael and I made to help her when her wedding day arrived. Did it work – or not? Here is what she had to say:

Susan Beacham is a nationally recognized children’s financial literacy expert and co-founder with my dad of Money Savvy Generation – and she’s my mom. So it will likely be no surprise to you, that she was putting a plan into action for (potential) future wedding costs way back when we were in our freshman year of high school. More importantly, she shared these plans with my sister and I many times over the years whenever weddings and cost came up in conversation.

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Believe it or not, Michael and I started the wedding cost conversation with our daughters way back when they were in high school. I’d been at a local small business gathering and listened to a friend talk about the cost and the conversation he had recently with his daughter about her upcoming wedding. He explained that he’d given her a check with a set amount and said she was free to do what she wanted with it. But that the check was his full contribution to her wedding costs. With this method, he would not be in the position of managing the budget or have to be the one to say “no” to things that would be outside what he wanted to spend on the day.

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Allison, my daughter and co-author of O.M.G. Official Money Guide for College Students, is head of North American marketing for a large technology firm. We look to Allison for understanding of the younger generation. Recently, a friend of mine with college-age kids asked Allison for her advice about the value of internships. Her wise words follow.

Why you don’t need an internship to get your dream job

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I spent the other night looking through my mom’s and grandmother’s recipes. I was looking for a few specific ones that I hope to make with the girls – now grown women – this holiday season. Each recipe is written on an index card in my mother’s and my grandmother’s handwriting.  As I look at these recipes it brings back such clear memories of the women they were and the times we spent together.

As you think about gifts this holiday season, remember that many of the best gifts are not bought – but rather created.

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