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Volume 1, Number 1                                                                                                                                                           June 1998

PART 2 Can 6 to 10 year old children learn to be financially savvy?  Yes, but not without your help.  When they are at this young age, you can help them understand three fundamental concepts: *MONEY COMES FROM WORK, NOT FROM AN ATM.  Take them to the bank when you make deposits and withdrawals and explain how banks work.  Teach them to connect work and money by giving them an allowance based upon household responsibilities.  The level of work and pay should increase with age. *THEY SHOULD HAVE FINANCIAL GOALS.  Explain the concepts of giving and saving, and start them on a pattern of giving 10 percent and saving 10 percent of all money they receive, including gifts.  Allow them to spend the rest with your guidance, even letting them make poor choices so you can teach them from their mistakes. *THEY NEED TO KNOW HOW TO SPEND MONEY WISELY.  Let them see how household finances work.  Explain your bills to them, let them help make the shopping list, take them to the grocery store each week and instruct them through your choices. A small investment in teachable money moments each week will pay off handsomely for your child's financial future.

 

PART 3 Between the ages of 11 and 14, children are becoming more aware of what money means to them.  Your primary goal is to reinforce the foundational skills of earning, saving, giving and spending. *Increase children's allowances and their at-home responsibilities commensurate with their growing maturity.  Remind them to increase their giving in relation to their higher earnings. *Teach delayed gratification.  Ask your children what major purchase they'd like to make in four to eight months.  Tell them you will help them to achieve their goal by matching a portion of their savings or giving them bonuses for extra work.  They may change their minds after two months, but will have learned a valuable lesson:  Time often determines how much you really want something. *Give them greater independence in spending decisions, but monitor them closely.  If you disagree with a potential spending decision, let them know why and declare a week-long waiting period to test their interest. Above all, make your own investment of praise and encouragement for their efforts.

 

PART 4 Your last chance to influence your children's financial habits comes when they are between the ages of 14 and 18. Because they are still in school, children must learn to juggle competing priorities.  Working outside the home will teach them to become responsible wage earners.  This will be valuable experience if they have to work while attending college or manage a career and family. *Make them assume increased financial responsibility for their personal interests, including clothes, and a portion of expenses such as gas and auto insurance.  Help them budget and track their expenses. *Teach them to save for their own long-term needs such as a car, college or even a down payment on their future house.  They are old enough to understand basic principles of investing - assuming you understand them yourself. *Have them select a missionary or charity in addition to their place of worship to pray for and to support financially. *Be fair but be firm.  The lessons learned now will result in a lifetime of responsible financial management.

 

PART 5 The combination of an independent lifestyle despite continuing financial dependence presents an interesting challenge for parents of college-age children.  It's a great time to evaluate the students' financial wisdom and reinforce three critical lessons they need to master to become money-smart adults:  responsibility, budgeting and credit management. Today's typical college graduates will earn several million dollars during their working years.  Making them invest in their own future will give them a greater sense of ownership in their college education and career.  Have them share some of their college expenses.  If they haven't saved any money (shame on both of you!) by now, have them take out their own student loans. Their newly found independence will offer great temptations.  Whether they use their money or yours for daily expense, hold them accountable for living on a budget.  Make a rule of no "send money" phone calls, and stick to it! They'll get credit cards eventually, so let them learn to use one under your watchful eye.  Set a low limit with rigid guidelines for the card's use and payments. These extracurricular lessons will provide them with a lifetime's worth of A+ financial experience.

 

PART 6 Today's college graduates stand to earn as much as $3 million over their careers.  Yet while they leave college with tremendous earning potential, they also have tremendous spending potential.  That's why the odds are high that financial worries will become their No. 1 source of stress. You will have accomplished your goal of raising money-smart adults if they do five things.  And it doesn't take a financial degree to implement these principles: *Choose a lifestyle that costs less than what they earn.  Spending less of their money means borrowing less of someone else's. *Know where their money is going.  They should define goals and keep track of spending to ensure they are making wise uses of their money. *Make giving a primary financial goal.  God loves a cheerful giver.  (2 Corinthians 9:7) *Save money to build an emergency fund.  Repairs and accidents happen.  Your graduate should plan for them by saving at least two months' salary. *Save money for the future starting now.  To accumulate $1 million in conservative investments by age 65, they can either save $2,600 per year from ages 23-40 or $10,000 per year from ages 40-65.

Ray Linder's previous books are entitled "Making the Most of Your Money" and "FINANCIAL FREEDOM:  SEVEN SECRETS TO REDUCE FINANCIAL WORRY".  His latest book, released in June, 2000 is entitled "What Will I Do With My Money?".