Carmine

Many people want to make sure they are providing for their children as much or more than their parents provided for them. While you dont want to give to your children blindly, you would like to make sure you are raising your children to be conscious about money and financial matters.

Paying a regular allowance is a hotly contested topic. Should you pay a regular weekly amount or just pay your children for chores around the house? There is no reason you cant do both. Providing a regular allowance can offer your child a sense of independence and understanding of money. However, you dont have to give them too much and you can also pay them extra for certain chores, like mowing the lawn or extra cleaning around the house.

You dont have to share every detail about your own personal finances (for example: I cant believe my credit card bill is $3,000 this month!) but you also dont want them to grow up completely ignorant about money. If you have a new job and want to watch expenses, this is something they ought to know. You can also share with them how much the grocery bill costs or how much the movie ticket costs but they dont need to know how much the mortgage payment is every month.

A common used technique in parenting is giving children choices. This can be applied to money matters as well. A great example is a childs birthday. You can offer them a big birthday party or a special gift (like a new bike) but not both. They dont need to know the actual costs, but by becoming more involved in the process, they learn how to prioritize their financial decisions.

Teaching your children about the concept about saving is especially important. Once they start getting a regular allowance, you should encourage them to save a portion of it for special occasions. They may not do it, but where else are they going to learn about it? Once they get old enough (at least 8 years old), they can also learn the basics of investing with some fun games or children focused mutual funds. Junior Achievement offers some wonderful programs in elementary schools. At the same time, you can also introduce contributing to a charity. They can either give through their own money or you can give them a certain dollar amount and let them choose their own charity.

When they reach high school age, there are basics concepts of personal finances that should be taught. These include putting a budget together, balancing a checkbook, and the concept of time value of money (for example, interest growing in a savings account). These are all invaluable lessons they will apply for the rest of their lives!

Galia Gichon, Founder of Down-to-Earth Finance, demystifies personal finance particularly to women through unbiased financial education. With over 14 years experience in financial services and an MBA in Finance, she does not manage money or sell investment products. You can subscribe to her weekly e-mail newsletter at DownToEarthFinance-On@zines.webvalence.com for smart tips to save more money and independent advice about mutual funds and retirement. She can be reached at 212.734.0433 and http://www.downtoearthfinance.com

Written by Galia Gichon
DOWN-TO-EARTH FINANCE

(Copyright Down-to-Earth Finance LLC 2006)