Have you had "The Talk" with your kids?
About money.
My kids are 5, 8 and 11. My older two are at an age where money is becoming a daily part of our family conversations. Even with the 5 year old. Though she wants little plastic ponies… the other 2 want phones and such.
But it’s not about HOW MUCH things cost… it’s about helping them learn value.
*sigh*
The topic of money can be very stressful. CAN be. I think we are at “high stress” when it comes to this topic in our home because we don’t have a solid plan laid out with the kids.
We give them allowance… based on chores and general helpfulness in our home. We all live here. We all need to contribute. BUT our standard is inconsistent. Our plan is fuzzy.
I am discovering my son needs to know he has hope… a way to earn. He has things on his list of wants that we will not be buying. He knows if he wants them… he’s going to have to earn them. Beyond his minimal allowance, how will he earn? How will he make mistakes he can learn from?
I have so many thoughts and strategies and approaches floating in my brain. I listen to friends – some with rigid plans… others with no plans at all.
I find most are in the boat we are in. We see the need to help lead our children in understanding the value of a dollar, but — WHERE DO WE START?
Well, iVillage is having The Talk here. I am loving the ideas presented in this interview. My favorite quote from that video interview Saturday TODAY anchor Amy Robach, “Never give your children money for nothing.” I may not want to adopt all that Amy is doing with her kids, but it is great to get an experienced perspective and grab hold of new ideas.
What all this means to me is this – we need to be talking to our kids… about manners and stranger danger AAAAAND money. Managing money has to start some time. It seems the younger we start teaching our kids about financial responsibility, the better. We need to start while the price tag is still low for them. Literally.
Today they may be budgeting for hoodies, iPod Touches and movie tickets, but someday those skills will be applied to their need to finance cars and homes and 401Ks…
Start while the price tag is low…
***This post is born from my involvement with a team of bloggers sponsored by iVillage.com/thetalk.
********
Keep up on the ridiculous, the insightful, the always digressive…
Get Jenny On The Spot by RSS or EMAIL or newsletter!
Follow JOTS on Twitter, join the Facebook Fan Page and/or Networked Blogs!
4 Responses to “Have you had "The Talk" with your kids?”
Use the Form Below to Leave a Reply
[...] Have you had “The Talk” with your kids? [...]
Good topic, Jenny!
My mom made us keep cash journals from the moment we started receiving pocket money (for “free”, but trust me – it wasn’t much!), and although it was a drag keeping track of every single penny, we did learn how to deal with money. Since we always knew how much we had, we knew what we could afford – or if we needed to save up some more. My parents weren’t rich, so I guess in a way that “helped”, too, plus credit cards were (and to a large extent still are) not very common in Germany.
I still keep a cash journal of sorts today – software (Quicken) on the PC but the same principles apply: I can see at one glance, how much money I have, how much I will need the remainder of the month (budgeting!!), and so on.
I have had some tight spots, but I have never been in debt (car and mortgage excepted) because I always know if I can afford something or not. And if not, than I either need to save some more money – or not buy it. Period.
Peace of mind about finances is priceless. (And no, Mastercard is NOT there for everything else!!)
So keep up the good work teaching your kids value – not only of money, but also of what is and what isn’t worth their resources – including time and worries.
My oldest has started making some very real cash from babysitting lately, and I’m super glad we did as much as we did with them early on, because she really GETS what’s important about money and the value. She still spends every cent, but she doesn’t ask for more when it’s gone, she knows to go out and work hard again!
When my daughter was about six I stopped buying “only one thing” for her in the store. Instead I gave her a dollar limit. It’s amazing how fast she would say, “Three dollars? For THAT?” and put things back. By junior high she was getting an allowance but had to buy lunch with her own money, with the option of packing a lunch from home to save money for something else. It was all about learning to make wise choices. Just hope it lasts when she goes off to college…