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I learned about money because my parents taught me and because I was allowed to work for money starting at a very young age. The feeling of earning my own cash led me to doing odd jobs around the neighborhood, babysitting, joining sales clubs...even before I was 16. When kids know how much effort it takes to earn a buck, they will appreciate the value of it much more.
p.s. My parents were pretty rich - I didn't have to do any of that; but it taught me a ton.
Sign that my 5 yr old needs to know more about money:
Found a little box in my yard with some random kid stuff in it along with a $5 bill that was torn in half and half of a $1. I ran her down and asked her about this and she said that it was her hiding place box (her bank) and that she keeps stuff hidden from her 3 yr old brother there.
So I was going to tape the $5 bill back together and put that project on hold and in that time one half of the $5 bill disappeared (likely the 3 yr old).
The 11 yr old suggested we tape the remaining $5 bill and the half of the $1 bill together to create a $6 bill. <----this was a good joke for an 11 yr old I thought.
Because you have money, you dont indulge your child, you teach your children, not everyone has the same opportunities, equality means sharing
Huh? I agree about teaching kids the value of money but are you saying that even if you have the money you shouldn't purchase something because someone else may not be able to afford it? Doesn't that kind of negate the whole principle of learning the value of a dollar? Kids should learn about putting off unnecessary purchases until you have some money saved and can pay cash for them but if the discussion is - well, I know YOU saved your money and have it but your brother doesn't have the money for what HE wants so you can't spend yours either....??? Hopefully I'm misinterpreting what you're saying.
This is a very sensative subject, we have to admit, the more electronics and expensive gadgets children get their hands on, the least likely their going to appreciate the more expensive objects like cars. Its just a bigger "toy." Because you have money, you dont indulge your child, you teach your children, not everyone has the same opportunities, equality means sharing. Same same. Lets stop indulging these children, lets get back to rocks and sticks.
Indulging a child has a lot less to do with stuff they have and a lot more to do with parents setting limits. Children who never hear "no" are the ones who are indulged, not necessarily the ones with stuff.
NCyank,
Of course, I don't mean quite literally, "rocks and sticks." Using any outdoor materials, for examples. I could have said, lets get them back on bikes! Lets get them back to making forts in the woods and having overnights in them, is everything taken so literal these days? Do we all have to be so serious? The point is, most kids play video games, get older and have a cell phone plastered to their hand. Expecting their parent to pick up the bill, w/unemployment at 10% in this country, we are going to have to re-train these kids, use the house phone, we have a answering machine for missed calls. Its not my problem, its just a topic of discussion.
This is a very sensative subject, we have to admit, the more electronics and expensive gadgets children get their hands on, the least likely their going to appreciate the more expensive objects like cars. Its just a bigger "toy." Because you have money, you dont indulge your child, you teach your children, not everyone has the same opportunities, equality means sharing. Same same. Lets stop indulging these children, lets get back to rocks and sticks.
Well.....all that might better prepare them for the economy we're going into.
Make them do special chores for money but then like the government does to us, take their money away and tell them it must be shared with their siblings who refused to help in the chore but laid around playing vide o...... I mean rocks and sticks.
NCyank,
Of course, I don't mean quite literally, "rocks and sticks." Using any outdoor materials, for examples. I could have said, lets get them back on bikes! Lets get them back to making forts in the woods and having overnights in them, is everything taken so literal these days? Do we all have to be so serious? The point is, most kids play video games, get older and have a cell phone plastered to their hand. Expecting their parent to pick up the bill, w/unemployment at 10% in this country, we are going to have to re-train these kids, use the house phone, we have a answering machine for missed calls. Its not my problem, its just a topic of discussion.
So are you really asking about teaching kids about money or (as I suspect) just on here griping about stuff other people and their kids have?
I'm obviously asking to much of you to actually have just some intelligent responses. Make me out to be the problem, thats the American way, don't ever realize the answers are at your own front door. Teaching kids about money lands on all of us parents, if I have to step by step lay out how the whole lifes cycles of money/time mgmt. play out for you snobs, this makes clear the sad state of affairs about how our country finds itself in today. Stop over analyzing and trying to act smart, just be aware your raising the next generation, and they need things, "luxuries."
Here's what we have been doing with my 11 year old for a few years now. It seems to be working. (We had some success with the previous 3 as well)
We tried to create a structure that mirrors real life circumstances.
He has a few ways to generate income: daily chores M-F (salary), report card/grades (incentive bonus), extra chores weekend (side jobs).
He has a bank account and it is expected that he will save a minimum of 20% of what he earns. (this is important to enforce at the onset, if left to their own, they will blow everything they make)
All of this gives him the ability to contribute, be responsible, earn money and learn about saving.
His M-F chore list consists of very simple tasks which include: bring in mail, take out trash, vacuum, brush teeth, take vitamin, complete homework. The latter items are added just to make the list appear more extensive (to him) than it actually is. He has a checklist that he marks off daily and at the end of the week he get $5.
For incentive bonus he gets $5 per A and $1 per B on report cards. He is an A-B student with mostly A's so he usually gets about $20 to $30 every 9 weeks when cards come out. There is also a $20 bump for straight A's (happened once). Many positions in the real world offer incentive bonuses to ensure standards are met. also any one grade less than a B on the report card results in $0 bonus (has never happened).
Weekend or side jobs are paid by the job. Basically a couple of bucks here and there.
When we started it was more forced, this is just the way it is, so to speak. He now performs his daily chores without being told. He Separates his money into 2 places, his deposit book and his wallet to keep track of what is for spending and what is for saving. (he also typically saves more than 20% these days) We dont let him carry his wallet around every day. It is typically at home unless we are going out together.
When holidays come around he is expected to do his shopping with his money (his gifts for several people run him about $30-$40 and he now figures sales tax into his budget). He always asks for extra work to earn this money, to avoid dipping into his regular money or his savings.
At first he was non-plussed about his bank statement. Once it started to grow he got more excited (he's proud that he has more in the bank than his teenage siblings). He enjoys reviewing the statement with me and likes that the bank gives him money (interest) for doing nothing (his words). He now typically saves half of the money he gets for B-days and holidays from relatives even though we do not require it. He also puts off buying things he doesn't really need or figures he might get during the next holiday. For instance he wants a video game that just came out but figures if he waits til Christmas he won't have to spend his money.
He has set his own goal of buying his own car and only using half of his savings at that time. (he has learned by watching the other 3, that while I will help, I don't buy cars for teenagers)
Most banks will let you set up a child account as a sub account of your account. These accounts usually require little or no minimum deposit to start (he started his with less than $20). They typically don't pay much interest though.
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