When I was young and growing up, I learned a lesson from my parents that I'll never forget:

'Money Doesn't Grow on Trees'

Here's what happened:

My dad was only 17 when I was born and we lived in Argentina. He worked hard to get the money he needed to get me to the United States and growing up was a struggle with making ends meet, but he always made it happen.

He would always tell me that money didn't grow on trees and I learned that it is important to be financially responsible and to value the hard work and effort that goes into earning money.

At the time, learning this lesson was hard—of course.

But in hindsight, I am so grateful to my parents.

I attribute a lot of who I am today to that one moment and I am trying to instill the same lessons to my own kids as they grow so I can teach them the value of hard work, financial responsibility, and the importance of budgeting and saving, just like my dad taught me.