I’m filling in for Sara for a few days and I have to say, I’m a little nervous. What do I know about money that I can share with you? Since most of my life is consumed with raising my daughter to be a good person, and that includes someone who is fiscally responsible, I’ll start with what we are teaching our kids about money, and what we should be teaching them.
Are your bills in a pile on the counter? A pile that keeps getting bigger and bigger while you ignore it? Are your credit cards maxed out? Do you accept every store credit card that’s offered to you and then use it, even though you came to the store planning to pay cash?
Don’t think for a second your kids are missing those lessons. I remember when Hailey was about six or seven and she wanted something at the store and I tried explaining to her that I didn’t have the money for it, we would have to wait until another day. My daughter, being the precocious reader that she was said “But they take checks Mommy.”
I realized then that whatever I show her, financially, she is going to repeat. I don’t want my daughter drowning in a sea of debt so I started setting a better financial example.
When Hailey was old enough I sat her down and showed her our budget. Hailey thought I made a lot of money, because really, when you are twelve anything over fifty dollars is a lot of money. Kids don’t realize all the things that cost money, you may remind your kids to turn off lights but until they see an electric bill the cost is not real to them.
When we had large, unexpected expenses, like medical bills or car repairs, I let Hailey hear me making arrangements to pay it or I explained to her that I had to take money out of our savings to pay it, but at least we still had a car to drive.
No one likes paying bills, but when your kids see that you take responsibility for the money you spend, they will make better choices. I know some people give their kids an allowance on a debit card, while that is good for teaching them how to balance an account, it really doesn’t let them see their pile of quarters dwindling away. Nothing makes you want to hang on to your money more than seeing it run away.