Teaching Our Kids Financial Responsibility

Training our kids to be financially responsible is a skill set that is terribly important but too often overlooked. If these skills are not mastered, their road ahead will be rocky at best. Ginny and Mary Ellen expertly manage this challenging subject in depth and with a treasury of practical tips. With age-appropriate lessons for your children, youngsters to young adults, these lessons will last a lifetime and are guaranteed to yield a handsome dividend.   Teaching Our Kids Financial Responsibility   For Young Children - Kids learning about money helps with decimals later on. Show them the value of saving/budgeting. Teach the importance of delayed gratification. Start simple - forego a few unnecessary purchases to save for a more significant purchase. Let them earn a little extra. Allowances: It is important to expect your kids to perform basic chores. Cleaning their room, helping with the dishes, etc. Consider paying extra money for bigger jobs outside the routine. Extra work pay can instill good habits and teach control over saving and spending. Sacrificial giving Teaching children to set aside a part of their earnings for the poor is essential to raising children to know, love, and serve God. Make it about more than just money. Giving is about donating their time and thoughts.  Helping at your food bank, the life center, or visiting the sick are all ways to give. Don't indulge them too much. If they make a foolish purchase, resist the temptation to bail them out — caveat Emptor. This is an incredibly powerful teaching moment. Don’t waste the opportunity. Negative consequences can carry powerful lessons. Talk about how to do better the next time; they'll start making more intelligent choices. For Teenagers Show them how to create a monthly budget. Discuss what they want to save for and develop a plan. Plan for college. It is never too early to discuss the cost of education.  Pair this with discussions on their gifts and talents.  What can they make a living at?  That might be different from what they are passionate about. Explain the difference between private and state schools.  Discuss early on how scholarships are awarded.  Early research pays off. Explain the realities of life. (Get a job) Teens are often shocked by the deductions from their first summer job paycheck (Who is FICA, and why is he getting all my money?). Explain taxes, budgeting, tax returns, and keeping good records.  For College-age Kids Explain the realities of borrowing money. Credit cards are high-priced loans.  Emphasize the importance of paying credit card bills on time and, if possible, in full.  Explain why a good credit report is important. If you are borrowing money to go to college, major in something that will get you a job that pays well enough to repay your loans. Help analyze career aspirations. If your goal is to be a school teacher or a fireman, a private school education will likely saddle you with too much debt. Go to state school.  Make sure they are aware of their hidden financial support. They will face these expenses someday, so they need to know the actual cost of living. For Young Adults Emphasize the importance of saving. Encourage them to set up an emergency fund. Suggest building up a rainy-day fund to cover at least six months of living expenses. Retirement should be on their minds. If there is an employer-sponsored 401k, take advantage of it.  Please make an appointment with a trusted financial advisor and take them to discuss long-term planning. Even a little set aside each month adds up quickly. Take advantage of any pre-tax benefits offered by employers.    Thanks for joining us. We hope you enjoyed today's podcast. We thank our team at Seton, Jason Loughry, Jim Shanley, and Robin Hibl. We would be lost without them! Please remember to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.