4 Great Money Habits Parents Should Teach Children Immediately
Here are 4 great money habits parents should teach children immediately. They will empower kids for a lifetime!
Great Money Habit 1: Teach children to get in the habit of saving money and building assets
I have written about this subject before. Getting in the habit of saving money has lots of payoffs. Several of the payoffs extend beyond money, like developing discipline and learning to delay gratification. For more details on this great money habit see my blogs 3 Ways Saving Money Makes Us Strong and 11 Ways Teaching Kids Early to Save Money Pays Off.
You may also want to reference the following articles:
1. How To Be Smart with Money from Better Money Habits a Bank of America and Khan Academy initiative
2. 10 Helpful Money Habits to Adopt Today from Learn Vest
3. 7 Money Habits to Start Now from Daily Worth
Great Money Habit 2: Teach children to get in the habit of calculating their “lifetime earnings”
I learned this one from Ginger Applegarth’s book “The Money Diet.”
Almost everyone knows how much money they make per hour or per year. But how many people know and are in the habit of calculating their lifetime earnings? Furthermore, how many people measure how much of their lifetime earnings they have retained. Making this calculation can help both kids and adults in at least two important ways:
1. It can help them begin to develop a long term perspective and begin seeing a bigger picture.
2. It can help them discover the power and magic of compound interest.
Did you realize if a child or young person gets in the habit of saving and investing ten percent of their income from an early age they can retain 100% or more of their lifetime earnings? Alert kids to this fact. Have them do the calculations. There are plenty of calculators online. It is a super investment of time. Let them know, as Sammy Rabbit says and sings – Anyone Can Be Rich, if they leverage compound interest!
Great Money Habit 3: Teach children to get in the habit of thinking “net worth”
Net worth is your total assets minus your total liabilities. You can locate definitions of “net worth” on either Wikipedia or Investopedia.
Net worth correlates with freedom and security. Income correlates closely with spending. Enough said. But if you want more information on the importance of net worth, read the book The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko or check out these blogs:
1. Financial Samurai: Focus on Building Net Worth Even More Than Income
2. Lifehacker: Why Net Worth Matters More Than Income
3. Money Crashers: How to Calculate Your Personal Net Worth
Great Money Habit 4: Teach children to get in the habit of thinking in percentages versus real numbers
The difference between five and six cents is a penny in terms of real numbers. A penny is easy to dismiss as having little to zero value.
The difference between five and six cents in terms of percentages is twenty percent!
How would you like to immediately start experiencing 20 percent returns on your savings, investments, and spending transactions?
Emily Dickinson is quoted as saying,
“If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves. You gain more control over your life by paying attention to the little things.”
I agree with Emily. Thinking in percentages when it comes to money, helps cultivate this mindset! It is a habit and mindset that can pay dividends for a lifetime!
If you are looking for fun, easy, and innovative ways to teach and talk to your children about money, do not hesitate to contact us. We love teaching kids to dream big and develop great money – reading habits!
Have a Sammyriffic day!
Warning! A Sammyriffic day includes reading, smiling, and service to others which can have a positive compounding impact on lives!
About Sam X Renick
Sam X Renick is a former financial adviser turned award wining social entrepreneur, children’s author, and songwriter. He has produced 3 stories and over 25 original songs on great money and character habits. Over the last 14 plus years, Sam and his main storybook character, the lovable, huggable Sammy Rabbit have used a dynamic, interactive approach to promoting financial literacy and saving money that integrate lessons on reading, writing and character through stories, songs, and skits. They have delivered their programs and products to over 250,000students, parents, teachers and trainers in 8 countries and 35 states at schools, youth clubs, community events, etc. Their efforts have garnered awards for themselves and others, including the Institute for Financial Literacy Children Book of the Year Award, the California Jumpstart Coalition Leadership Award, being named to the Loyola Marymount University Entrepreneurs Wall of Honor, the National Extension Association Family Consumer Sciences Award for Outstanding Financial Education Program, etc. Additionally, their efforts have been chronicled and applauded by a variety of web and media outlets including: NPR, Kiplinger’s Magazine for Personal Finance, MSN, the Chicago Tribune, Kansas City Star, Motley Fools, FOX, KTLA, KMEX, etc.
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if everybody grew up learning about solid personal finance fundamentals? Maybe we wouldn’t have the housing/financial crisis of 2008-2010 and there’d be a lot more financially self-sufficient people! Best, Sam
It would also be great if we didn’t have a financial industry motivated by sales and pushing products that were not financially fit for the consumer. Of course, it’s on the consumer’s head to be educated, I get that and wholly agree – But wouldn’t it be nice if the people selling this crap understood those same basic fundamentals? The hope there would be that if they understood they were selling drugs to kids (metaphorically) then they might take issue with it and stop….or at least demand a different compensation package so they could still feed their kids….