"Money may not buy friends, but it will help you stay in contact with your children” has been cited in print since at least 1965. The saying was a favorite of Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).


19 August 1965, San Antonio (TX) Express and News, pg. 1, col. 4:
Today’s Chuckle
Money may not buy friends, but it will help you stay in contact with your children.

21 August 1965, Kittanning (PA) Leader-Times, pg. 6, col. 1:
Money may not buy friends, but it will help you stay in contact with your children. (T-M, WRR Gen. Fea. Corp.)

27 August 1965, Oregonian (Portland, OR), pg. 1, col. 3:
Today’s Chuckle
Money may not buy friends, but it will help you stay in contact with your children.

Google News Archive
30 August 1965, Morning Record (Meriden-Wallingford, CT), pg. 1, col. 1:
Today’s Chuckle
Money may not buy firends, but it will help you stay in contact with your children.

9 October 1978, Aiken (SC) Standard, “As Ashley Sees It” by Ashley Cooper, pg. 4, col. 4:
Money isn’t everything, but it does keep you in contact with your children.

The Notes:
Ronald Reagan’s Private Collection of Stories and Wisdom
By Ronald Reagan
Edited by Douglas Brinkley
New York, NY: HarperCollins
2011
Pg. 204:
Money may not buy friends but it will help you to stay in contact with your children.