| Are You Good with Money? Your Children will be Too |
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| Written by William Blake |
| Monday, 27 July 2009 13:34 |
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Children learn by watching others. Who do they watch more than their parents? As parents, we need to be careful to put our best foot forward in matters of money in order to give our kids a healthy start in that arena.
Children learn by watching others. Who do they watch more than their parents? As parents, we need to be careful to put our best foot forward in matters of money in order to give our kids a healthy start in that arena. If parents have a cavalier attitude toward spending money a child will adopt the same attitude. Children are smart and they will quickly realize it if their parents are spending frivolously every time they go to the store but at the end of the month are stressed because they cannot pay the household bills. This is not a good example. Money problems are at the root of many marital conflicts and this has a huge impact on children. It is important for parents to use their money wisely so as not to put a strain on their marriage and on their family. Because parents are individuals too they may have different approaches to spending money because of the differences in their families as they were growing up. They need to reconcile these differences so that the children do not see a conflict. Learning to save takes time even for parents. We didn't all grow up with money-savvy parents. But now it's time to break the cycle of overspending and debt. Parents can take a money management class or read a book on the subject. As they learn, so will the children. The information can be shared at family meetings. Do not exclude your children from all discussions about the family's finances. Of course there may be times when parents have to discuss financial matters privately. But when creating a budget or discussing needed adjustments to the budget include the children so that they can see that you have a plan and you are working to follow it. As a child, my family didn't have a lot of money. When I was old enough to have a job, I would spend my money on whatever I wanted. I didn't want to live a life where I was deprived of things because I didn't have money. I worked hard, but spent every cent. This carried over into my adult life and created problems when I got married and started a family. My parents didn't do anything wrong, there just could have been a few more right things done. We never talked about money. It was a grown-up thing and children weren't included. I went with what I perceived to be the truth when it came to money. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Can cancelling a credit card help you get your debt paid off faster? Learn whether they're as good as they sound on the Debtopedia website at www.Debtopedia.com website where you can get a free copy of my report Secrets Of Credit Card Debt |