Parenting Advice – Teaching Kids About Money

My kids have discovered Mamma Mia – the soundtrack at least, and while the song Money, Money isn’t their favorite – it’s one of my – if only because I think it sums up what a lot of people – especially daughters, think about money and being rich – (if you’re not familiar with it, the lament is that singer has no money

even though she works all day, and should find a rich man to marry or go to Las Vegas and try to win big).

So while as parents, we know we need to teach our kids some basic money management skills, we sometimes don’t do it – or we send different messages to our sons rather than our daughters. I mean we might not expressly tell our daughters to go out and find a rich man to marry, yet do we really teach her how to be financially competent and independent? Do we teach her the skills she needs to know in order to live within her means no matter how she earns her money as an adult?

If you’re not sure, or are wondering just what we should be teaching, here are 6 skills we should be teaching kids about money.

1. How to Manage a Cash Allowance
2. How to manage a checking account – and an ATM Card
3. How to save for a goal - even if you think it’s a waste of money
4. How to figure out the time value of money - or the fact that a small pile of money can grow into quite a bit through the power of compound interest
5. How to get out of debt (or how to never get there in the first place)
6. How to compare prices - like the difference between Abercrombie prices and Old Navy….

Check back tomorrow as we dive into “How to Manage a Cash Allowance” – teaching your children how to budget.