TEACHING YOUR KIDS FINANCIAL LITERACY-PART I

I have a B.S Degree in Business Management and none of the courses I took in college ever discussed handling personal finances. If the majority of the people in the United States are in debt and have a poor financial picture, do we expect the so called experts to have it all together?

I have learned from bitter experience how to get out of debt and stay out of debt. I now have the responsibility to teach my children. This I have done.

When do we start and what do we do? First of all our children learn from what we do and not what we say! Your actions speak louder than your words. Do you talk about finances with your children? Are they aware of the bills that need to be paid?

For your children to learn about the proper handling of finances they must be aware and informed. Let’s start with having an allowance. Is this the right thing to do or is it a form of welfare? I have read a lot on this and I will share my personal experiences.

When my kids where at home we were always in some form of debt. We started out by giving a small allowance to them and then gradually, as I started to learn about getting out of debt, I stopped.
There are always chores to do around the house and they were required to do these as part of the household (not being paid). This included taking care of their rooms, taking out the trash, washing the dishes, etc.

We did pay them for some chores: snow removal, cutting the grass, washing the cars. This was a way for them to EARN money. They tithed on this, put some in savings, and had some to spend.

Some people allow their children to spend all the money they get whether it is earned income or gifts. This gives a wrong picture. They are learning to spend money as soon as it comes in.

Your children must learn to save and put off needless expenditures. More to come!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts