How to Make Sure Your Kids Live Better Than You

Teaching Kids About Money

I ran across this old article published by Money magazine I had set aside (can you tell I really enjoy the magazine, yet?) and it struck me just as hard now as it did when I tore it out back in 2005.

I didn’t grow up in a family that was enlightened about money and I’ve spent most of my adult life struggling to hone my business savvy and to my transform my beliefs about work and money. Believe me – the ones I have STILL get in the way at times and at times it gets in the way more than at others.

(You’ll have to pardon me; I just found out how much fun the caps key can really be (smile).)

One of the things that George Mannes addresses in his article is how spending money is invisible in the digital age. Buying something with the swipe of a card can make spending money waaaayyy too sanitary. (I’d love to know what the numbers are on overdrafts in the first years checking accounts are opened…) It takes some work to connect the dots for children and young adults about all the effort those goes into being able to swipe that card.

After all, hho hasn’t checked their bank balance and been surprised at how quickly it goes?

The article has some concrete strategies and real world examples that make this older article perfectly relevant for the changes in today’s economy. Achieving the American dream seems to get a bit harder with every generation and although the changes in our world these days seem to be raising the bar and demanding even more I know how important it is to me that I do everything in my power to make it as easy as I can for everyone I can reach.

Hang in there – you have my heartfelt promise that whatever you’re going through there is a miracle in it for you – you just have to stay the course and stay open to your miracle.