They tucked you into bed, made you eat your peas and argued with you about curfew. They’re your parents, and you’ve inherited more from them than your hair color or stubborn streak. Chances are you’ve also gained a few pieces of financial wisdom over the years.

Here Modern Woodmen members share financial beliefs they’ve inherited from their parents and how those beliefs have affected their lives today.

Sandy Trippe, Wendell, N.C.

Inherited belief: Sandy’s parents, Haywood and Flossie Price, taught her to work hard, save money when you can … and trust the advice of your Modern Woodmen representative.

“My parents weren’t financially savvy,” she says. “Money was tight, and they had four kids.”

Their representative helped them get on a good financial path. At her recommendation, they opened an annuity and added to it whenever they had a few extra dollars. Now in their 80s, they enjoy receiving their regular annuity checks.

Life impact: Several years ago, Sandy attended a Modern Woodmen camp dinner with her parents, which made her think about her own financial future.

“I felt so secure knowing my parents had been with Modern Woodmen all these years. I felt this was a safe place to put my money too,” she says.

Now retired from the federal government with good benefits, Sandy’s glad she has her Modern Woodmen annuity for the extras. “There are lots of things my husband and I want to do. We love to travel. But it’s more than that,” she says. “It’s knowing that we’re taken care of and that my parents are taken care of too.”

Pat Tart, Knightdale, N.C.

Inherited belief: As Sandy’s older sister, Pat also learned the value of hard work and saving for the future.

“My parents worked hard. I worked hard. My children work hard. That’s the belief,” she says. “You do your day’s work. You earn your money.”

Pat inherited the importance of financial security as well. “I don’t like taking risk,” she says. “To me, Modern Woodmen is security. I think that had to be something my parents instilled in me.”

Life impact: When her parents met with their Modern Woodmen representative years ago, Pat joined them. “I realized I needed to be doing something too,” she recalls.

She and her husband purchased permanent life insurance certificates for their two young children. Since that time, they’ve covered themselves with life insurance and saved for their retirement years in an annuity.

A third-generation Modern Woodmen member herself, Pat has now passed her financial beliefs to the fourth and fifth generations of members. “I impressed on my children to save for a rainy day,” she says. “Now they’re teaching their children the same thing.”

With the help of Modern Woodmen, they’ve inherited valuable financial beliefs they can someday pass down too.