With Mother’s Day fast approaching, it’s easy to fall into the what-gift-should-I-get mode, when it might be so much more worthwhile to reflect on what gifts our mothers have given us, and thanking them for it.

As the youngest in my family with three older siblings, my mom was back to work full time as a school nurse from the time I was in second grade. So I came of age with a mom who enjoyed her work, was an equal partner with my dad on family finances and everything else, and who nudged me to always think about what I wanted to do for a living when I grew up. I am grateful to her for all of that.

This Mother’s Day is a good day to think about how our moms have influenced us in the choices we’ve made in our work and how we handle our money. So who else to better talk to about such matters than Suze Orman, best-selling author and omnipresent speaker on a mission to empower women to take charge of our financial lives? I spoke with Suze about her mom, Sue, who recently celebrated her 93rd birthday.

“When I was growing up, and it was not okay for women to work – they were supposed to stay at home and take care of the children – my mother had no choice. My mother had to be the one who went out to work and bring in the money. My father had one tragedy after another happen to him,” she said.

Her mom worked for the rabbi in her congregation and as an Avon lady (then, representative now) when one job didn't cover the bills. Even though her mom supported the family, she let her dad take the credit. “At a very young age, I thought, what is this about? My mother is the one who is taking care of my father, her mother, taking care of us, taking care of everybody, and still volunteering at the PTA,” Orman said. “Never once do I remember her taking time to read a book, taking time to do something she wanted. Her entire life was dedicated to taking care of everyone else but her. She lost herself.”

Orman, whose latest book is, “Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny” (Spiegel & Grau), says she wishes her mom had trusted herself to control her finances after her husband died, instead of turning the responsibility over to her sons. “Why in the world do we wait until it’s too late to understand our own value?” she asked. “Why is it that we always take care of everybody else before we take care of ourselves, and we don’t value ourselves as much as we value others?”

So Orman, who estimates her net worth above $25 million, has this advice for moms this Mother’s Day: “The greatest Mother’s Day gift you can give yourself is understanding your own power.” Give to yourself before you give to everyone else in your life so you’ve got something to give. “Put the financial oxygen mask on first," she said, "before you put it on your kids."

Good advice. What money lessons have you learned from your moms, good and bad?