Having a child has been an overwhelming experience. There are so many things I want to teach Samuel. I don't want him to make the same mistakes I did. I think back and wonder how things would have been different if I knew then, what I know now!?!The fourth lesson I want Samuel to learn is how to be smart with money! I had no training in these areas and I get heart palpitations thinking about the money I've wasted and the money I would've saved by now if I had been smarter at an earlier age.
I'm going to start a savings account for Samuel as soon as the adoption is final and I can get his social security number. If he gets an allowance (Still discussing this with Richard. He got one as a kid, but I didn't.), he'll only be allowed to keep 10% of it and the rest will be saved. The same goes for when he has a job.
I also want him to know the DANGERS of credit cards. I never want him to declare bankruptcy, like I did.
A neighbor told us that she gave her kids a debit card that they put money on each month. The kids learned to be responsible and to budget for what they wanted. When the money was gone, oh well...wait until next month. I think this could go a long way to teaching a bunch of lessons.
Other parts of this lesson will include: knowing the difference between wants and needs, tithing, smart shopping, budgeting, instant gratification traps and planning for the future.
We want Samuel to be able to experience life and all it has to offer. We want him to be able to live where he chooses, travel when he likes and have a job he loves. Although money, is by no means everything, it does help you to experience things, go places and create the life you want. Being smart with your money and planning for the future can help to create this reality.
2 comments:
I love this lesson and also feel very strongly about teaching our {someday} babies about how to work with money the right way. The topic of money management is so often overlooked in terms of parenting. Even though I have wonderful parents, I had to learn this stuff the hard way. I read a really neat idea once, which was to give the child control over their allowance, but to give them certain percentages that had to be for certain things. For example, you must save 15% of this...so on and so forth, but letting the child figure it out and make his or her own budget. GOOD LUCK...I hope that whatever you decide for Samuel works well!
Melba
Dave Ramsey has a great kids money lesson.
We hope to instill a good sense of money in our children. Glad you have a plan already in the works.
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