Mary J. Blige says she learned the hard way how important it is to understand her finances

Mary J.

Blige said her mother signed her music contract on the washing machine.

Rodin Eckenroth/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images Mary J.

Blige said she entered the music industry knowing little about the business side.

She said people around her benefited from her lack of financial knowledge early in her career.

She has since learned from the experience and isn't afraid to ask questions or seek help.

Mary J.

Blige said her early success came with a steep learning curve when it came to money and contracts.

On Wednesday's episode of the "IMO" podcast , the singer said her lack of financial knowledge left her vulnerable early in her career.

"We signed a contract in the kitchen, on the washing machine.

My mom didn't know anything.

She didn't even know anything about reading a contract, nor did we care," Blige told podcast hosts Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson.

Having grown up in poverty in the housing projects of Yonkers, New York , Blige said all she and her mother could think about was that they were "getting out of here." To them, whatever the contract contained was better than their circumstances at the time.

Looking back, Blige said she wasn't equipped to understand the financial side of the music business .