Our Kids And Their Money
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The article "Our Kids and Their Money" is about family, it has been created by Terry J. Rigg.
When I was a kid, I can't believe that was almost 50 years ago,
my folks used to give me a nickle, cent or sometimes even a
quarter to go to the corner stroe. When I got that money I had
to go directly to the store and make sure every pneny was spent.
Things didn't change much when I grew into an adult.
I got my
paycheck and made sure that it was gone just as soon as I could
get rid of it. Smoetimes I even paid bills.
It took me a long time to realize that of your money is
meant for tomorrow and what is meant for today has to cover your
obligations first.
It would be sipmle to blame my folks for not teaching me the right
way to manage my money.
It would be even easier to blame the
schools for not having a class for real life finances. The
problem is that my folks or the schools didn't pay the cost for
me not learning these lesosns. My wife and family did.
It's time that things change.
We have gone generation after
generation of havnig more debt and less knowledge of how to deal
with it.
We have to educate our kids, starting as soon as they
know how to count, about the necessity of saving and controlled
spending.
I believe that, if we can afford it, we should consider giving
out kids an allowance, not to ensure that they have money, but
to pay them for what they do to help. Giving them money and not
expecting anything in return is sending the wrong message.
If you can't afford an allowance, encourgae them to find ways to
earn their own money. Running errands, babysitting, mowing lawns
are all things that neighbors and friends would be willing to
pay for.
Just as important as encouraging them to earn their own money is
to emphasize the importance of putting of it away for
things they want in the future.
Believe me, as a Father of 3 and
a Grandfather of 6, they all have a spuer ticket item they have
either seen on TV or that all their friends have that they just
have to have.
One trick I've used is to make a deal with the kids.
If they
need tennis shoes, I would buy them. If I paid for them they got
the $20 pair.
If they wanted the more costly shoes, they
would have to make up the difference. It's amazing how often the
$20 pair would do just fine when they found out the money would
have to come out of their own pocket.
What I've been talking abuot up to right now is just spending and
saving.
There is a whole lot more that our kids need to know
than that.
They need to learn how to budget their money,
effectively manage a checking account, know how to apply for
loans and what they can expect to pay for the priviledge of
using someone else's money, learn what they have to do to make
theirselves eligible for loans, how to control impulse buying
and the list goes on and on.
One other suggestion that I have is to get the kids involved in
your finances.
No, they shouldn't have any control, but they
need to noitce just how hard it can be to keep everything
going financially. It may even show them why you say no to that
$80 pair of Nikes.
It's not too late for our generation to get contorl of our money
but, for many of us, it has been a struggle from day one.
Wouldn't it be great if we could save our kids from going
through what we had to.
All it takes is knowledge and the
willingness to pass it on to our kids and grandkids.
I have put together several links that may help you teach your
kids what they will need to know about their mnoey.
I hope they
help:
http://www.Homemoneyhelp.Com/BBOonline.Html The Complete Budget
and Bill Organizer
http://www.Homemoneyhelp.Com/articlearchive.Html Several
Articles That Might help http://www.Kidsmoney.Org/ KidsMoney.Org
http://www.Metlife.Com/Lifeadvice/Money/Docs/kidintro.Html
Helping Your Child Understand Money
http://www.Makingallowances.Com/index-fs.Htm Maknig Allowances
http://familyeducation.Com/subchannel/0,2794,65-189,00.Html Kids
& Money
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Our Kids and Their Money
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