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The ABCs of Money: Top 10 Signs Its Time to Talk Money
published: April 2008
By Susan Beacham, Money Savvy Generation
Email Author
Its always time to talk with your kids about money, but here are the Top 10 signs you shouldnt wait another minute:
10. Your son says with pride he just signed up for a new cell phone deal:
unlimited monthly minutes for an unlimited monthly fee.
Cell phones are the way our kids talk to one another. So, before you hand over the phone, talk about limits. In our house, the girls know the phones are for us to call them and them to call us. Period. Their cell phone voice mail message directs friends to call them at home. We also explained that the free phone they use is not a fashion accessory, and ring tone choice is limited to what comes free with the phone. Any others are up to them to purchase.
9. Your kids roll their eyes when you say, Money doesnt grow on trees! We all say these things, I know. But our kids take us less seriously when we dilute the real money message with throwaways like this one.
8. You walk into a store to buy shampoo and walk out with a must have or will die Usher CD and NO SHAMPOO! Time to talk to your child about making a shopping list to help them prioritize and focus on the important things when they are faced with so many shiny things in the store.
7. Your daughter offers to lend you money from her babysitting stash.
Truth be told, kids can make a good buck these days babysitting. Before they start rolling in cash, teach them that they have four choices for money not just one spend. Each time kids come home with cash either earned or a gift encourage them to pay themselves first by making a deposit into a savings account. Let them put some of the money aside for spending and, if they choose, some for donating and investing. Just a little in each choice each time. Eventually it will become a habit to think in terms of choice. One more thing: Dont let your child accumulate large amounts of cash in their room. Keep moving the cash to a savings account where money does grow not on trees but as a result of interest.
6. Your son takes a pass on your homemade meatloaf dinner and offers to treat everyone to pizza and Coke with his new debit card. Kids must learn the lesson that when money is gone, its gone by dealing with coins and currency. Debit cards provide that endless supply feeling to kids and a lot of adults as well.
5. Your son announces his plans to use his credit card once he runs out of money on his debit card. See No. 6 above and repeat!
4. Your child text messages her friends for advice on how to pay her text messaging bill. Those little messages can carry a hefty price tag. Last week, as my daughters were texting one another while sitting side by side in the van, I decided to check into a monthly plan. Each message was costing Allison 10 cents. Her bill for texting alone came in at more than $50 one month. (How did she have the time to send more than 500 messages?) Now, prices have risen to 15 cents per message. My advice: Check out a monthly unlimited package. Talk with your child about the monthly cost vs. paying per message. Ask them which they would like to pay for.
3. Your son tells you all he wants for his birthday is some money for
gambling. The advent of online gambling delivers this game right to the computers in our childrens rooms. According to a report on PBS in 2005, children as young as 10 are online and gambling. Make gambling less provocative by teaching children about money. Its that simple. The children who get hooked and find
themselves deeply in debt are online and gambling with credit cards. Teaching your child about money can be the lesson that saves them from making this mistake.
2. You overhear your daughter telling her friends that it was just her luck to get stuck with the poor dad. Lucky indeed. For the child who gets a parent who teaches them about money gets the best dad.
1. Your child announces she made $10 million in the stock market simulation game at school, so shes ready to manage your retirement portfolio. Consider it good news your child is that engaged in learning about investing. Dont hand over your IRA, but do take that simulated interest into the real world and help your child research and buy one share of stock. You can buy stocks through low-cost service providers such as www.buyandhold.com or www.sharebuilder.com.
Susan Beacham is the founder and CEO of Money Savvy Generation, which creates innovative products and services to help parents, grandparents and educators teach children money management skills. Email her at Susan@MSGen.com. Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved.
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