Kids and Money: The Opportunities
The last excerpt, published here, was about the dangers of not teaching our children good attitudes and habits with money.
On the positive side of the ledger, this book will help you take advantage of the many opportunities you have to teach your kids about money. The opportunities are legion, but six major ones stand out.
Opportunity 1: Your Kids can Become Financially Responsible Adults
If you help your kids develop good money habits when they’re young, they will have a better chance of being successful as adults. They’ll learn to make choices, become more independent and will know how to set and achieve financial goals.
Opportunity 2: Your Kids can Develop Strong Positive Values about Money
You have an opportunity to help your kids develop a good attitude towards money; that money is not an end in itself, but a means to achieve more important goals in their life. They can develop a sense of self worth that’s not tied to the size of their bank account, nor to the kind of running shoes they wear. As well, if they develop a good attitude toward money, they may be better able to resist the negative aspects of peer pressure.
Opportunity 3: Your Kids will Learn Consistent Money Habits and Useful Financial Skills
With your help, your kids can grow up knowing how to set financial goals, how to follow a budget and how to handle money on a daily basis. They will also learn to save money regularly, make smart buying decisions, and set their own priorities on spending.
Opportunity 4: Your Kids will Develop the Confidence to Make their Own Choices
By teaching your kids how to handle their own money from an early age, you will give them increasing confidence to make their own choices. They won’t feel they always need to turn to you and other people to make decisions for them. If they develop confidence about money early on, they will be better able to handle increasing responsibility as they get older. As well, their confidence about money will translate into confidence about other areas of their life, such as school, athletics, personal relationships and community involvement.
Opportunity 5: You can Teach your Kids the Right Things about Money
If you adhere to the proven process in this book, you’ll become more confident about teaching your kids. You will see the results throughout their childhood and teens. You’ll know you’re teaching the right principles the right way. (That’s not to say you’ll agree with everything I say in this book, but it will help you decide what’s right for you, and that will further increase your confidence.)
Opportunity 6: You can Improve your Relationship with your Kids by Teaching them about Money
As you work with your kids on the concepts, you have the opportunity to discuss thousands of topics. That’s because money issues affect virtually every area of our lives. As you progress, you’ll learn a lot about your kids, and they’ll learn a lot about you. You’ll also work as a team, instead of as adversaries. This chance to be a team is, in my mind, the greatest opportunity of all.