DISQUS

nickel · 2 months ago

I think you covered it pretty well. Nice job. Regarding #3, our (then) eight year old (currently nine) once told me that he might want to be a millionaire "someday," but not right now because then all he'd do is worry about his money. :)

Jason @ Redeeming Riches · 2 months ago

Great post! I think you hit it on the head with these.

I've got 2 small children, but as they grow I want to stress the importance of #5. I'd like them to understand that we should be conduits with our money. If we are blessed with money we should be a blessing to others as much as we can.

If they get that being generous will bring them more joy than hoarding it, that will be a great lesson learned!

ZFarls · 2 months ago

Cute article, Even got a Bush Jab in there. Start brainwashing your kids young. Funny, didn't make an obama reference when saying don't be jealous of other peoples money or no such thing as a free lunch. Not if the gov't has anything to say about it.

PT · 2 months ago

Good stuff, Flexo. Your kids will be lucky to have such a financially responsible and knowledgable parent. I agree with your points about borrowing and about how to view money. For my kids, I'd change the language a bit on #5 from obligation to opportunity.

Jen @ After The Alter · 2 months ago

Great points! I believe in all of these. My parents taught me the value of a dollar and I think it's very important to be debt free, and to have savings. My husband (my journey to millions) and I worked very hard to be debt fee, and now that we are we are working very hard at our savings. Our frugality now will help us in the future. (PS he had a great time meeting you on Saturday)

David@DINKS Finance · 2 months ago

I'm not sure how I feel about your first point. Money IS NOT evil in any way. You have to remember what money represents, and that is what you should teach your children. It is a means of trade - instead of trading an apple for an orange it represents value that can be traded. I just finished "Atlas Shrugged" a few weeks ago and I have to say Francisco D'Anconia's "money speech" is one of the best explanations of money I have ever heard. Google it, reflect on it, and teach your kids money is NOT the root of all evil!

Apex · 2 months ago

I regularily see this reference to money being the root of all evil or not being so.

Who says this (other than a reference in Atlas Shrugged)?

If you are referring to the Biblical reference it's worth noting that is the LOVE of money being the root of all evil, not money itself. And those are two very different things.

The LOVE of money is being addressed more by point #2 where money is not a goal. Don't love money, if you do, it will probably make you do some stupid and crazy things, maybe even some evil things.

But I don't see much of a belief in the world today that money itself is the root of evil (I am sure you can find a fringe minority who think anything).

Flexo · 2 months ago

David: I'm confused by your comment. I said money is neither good nor evil. We agree.

Kelly · 2 months ago

Great post. So many of these things are taught by the actions of parents. I find a lot of my own 'baggage' and emotional issues with money and what it means were learned by watching my parent's actions. Some of those lessons were very good, and have served me well, while others, well not so much.

If you do have children they will certainly reap the rewards of your hard work, and thought beforehand.

ZFarls, I don't think that's a jab at the Bushes at all. They DO have a lot of money. Change the name to Rockefeller, or Kennedy, and you still have the same conclusion. We elect the president, and his term is only 4 years, so our kids will have plenty of time to see changes in the government, and their policies/laws. These lessons are bigger than any 4 year term.

Apex · 2 months ago

You aren't paying attention if you don't think that was a jab.

The Bush reference wasn't about money. It was about him getting his position on family name only. Note: "so you won’t get to be President of the United States because it runs in our family."

And you are correct that could be applied to Kennedy's as much as Bush. In fact even more so as the concept of being elected running in the family is much more prevalent there. Yet it was Bush who was used, and that was by design.

Flexo · 2 months ago

Yes it was a jab at Bush. He's definitely the best recent example of significant political power flowing through family lines, regardless of party affiliation. This surely happens with Democrats as well as Republicans, but naming Kennedy or Rockefeller wouldn't have made the point as crisply in my opinion.

Craig · 2 months ago

I like your tip that money is not a goal, it's a tool to help you do more things you would like. Money can make you happy but doesn't have to. Follow your passions, work hard and you will see the results.

Jason @ MyMoneyMinute · 2 months ago

A co-worker & I were just talking about parents and "preparing" them for Kindergarten. He wanted his kids to be reading and be able to adjust well to being in school every day. So he & his wife intentionally made time to read and train their twin daughters almost on a nightly basis.

I think the overall theme is to be 'intentional' in training your children, and teach them to be 'intentional' with their actions. Being pro-active, rather than reactive, will squash many money problems before they start. Most of your ideas above speak directly to this creed of being 'intentional'.

I also love your line, "Money does help reveal the nature of a person." The intentionality of managing your finances is coupled with developing character in your child. Money is an amplifier of their character, and you did an awesome job of pointing that out.

The only thing I would caution my kids on more extensively is the bondage of debt. While you posted an article on when debt might be an okay thing to do, I think a heavy education on the perils of debt should be focused on, rather than focusing on what MIGHT be an okay thing to do. Humans, let alone kids, are almost ingrained to take the easy way out. By focusing on the enslavement qualities of debt, it forces them to come up with alternative solutions to their lack of money FIRST, rather than relying on debt to take care of it. This is especially true with loaning money for cars and education -- something I wasn't well-educated on in years gone by, and am now learning my lesson one student loan payment at a time for the next 3 decades!

Nice article, keep up the great work Flexo!

Flexo · 1 month ago

Thanks, Jason!

Financial Samurai · 2 months ago

Well said. We don't need any more Bank of Mom & Dad's! It makes me sick the entitlement of some kids out there.

Peter · 1 month ago

I couldn't agree with you more. Sometimes we lose track of what we are here for in this earth in the first place, and your article serves as a prompt for adults too. Thanks for the reminder!

Daniel · 1 month ago

This is an insightful post, thank you for sharing. I'm always saddened to hear how so many people think money will solve their problems. It just doesn't work like that. Money solves *some* problems and yet it creates others. And it doesn't solve the problems in life that really matter.

Gwen · 1 month ago

I think it's important to be careful with this one.

If you are in a position to help, you have an obligation to help.

It took me a while to learn that as a rule of thumb giving money to people doesn't actually help them. Helping people out of holes they dig themselves into seems to just make them call you next time they dig themselves into a hole. I had a roommate once I needed to get rid of. She couldn't afford to leave. I coughed up the money for her first month's rent and security deposit--and I got her out of my house. A month later she called me up. "I got a checking account for the first time in years and I'm overdrawn. Can you help?" That time I flat out said no.

I've had many experiences like that, so I just don't give money to people anymore.

I'm totally game for helping with money other ways, when there's a surplus. Donating to certain charities seems safe. Volunteering seems safe. Giving food to the food drive seems safe. Teaching the kids to save part of their allowance in the "give to others" box so they can adopt endangered animals seems safe.

Flexo · 1 month ago

Gwen: I think from "If you are in a position to help, you have an obligation to help," you can take away a wide variety of ways to "help." It's not necessarily by giving your money freely to your kids, friends who are in dire straits, or strangers, but there are ways to give back without giving people the idea that they can count on you for some dough whenever they ask.

Stu · 1 month ago

Maybe this suggestion is not exactly in the "teach children" category and is more in the "teach parents" category. Hey parents, let your kids make mistakes early. It will actually save you money because the mistakes get more costly as they grow up. One of the best things my daughter learned was when she bought a toy with her own money. My wife and I thought it was a dumb toy, but we kept our mouths shut. My daughter came to the conclusion on her own that "it is not as much fun as it looks like on TV". What appeared to be a waste of money was really an investment in her financial education.