925 Ideas to Help You Save Money and Get Out of Debt and Retire a Millionaire by Devin D. Thorpe

925 Ideas to Help You Save Money and Get Out of Debt and Retire a Millionaire by Devin D. Thorpe

Chapter 1
Your Family, Your Money

Five Ways to Teach Your Children the Value of Money
It is noble and good to teach your children that money cannot buy happiness. It is also
noble and good to teach them enough about the value of money to empower them to
succeed at whatever they choose to do in life. Here are some tips to help you teach your
children the value of money.
1. Provide a modest allowance. Giving your children a small weekly or monthly
allowance that they can spend as they wish will help them learn the value of money. If
your wallet is always open for them, they’ll never appreciate what it means to budget or
save.
2. Let them buy their own Xboxes. You will likely shower your kids with toys and gifts
as they grow, many of which have genuine health benefits—like bicycles, skateboards or
skis. There will be some things along the way that you and your children may disagree
about their appeal, like video gaming systems. These are valuable opportunities to teach
your kids about money. Let them save their allowance and work for the money to buy
what they want. If you hire them to do chores, be sure not to pay them more than the
neighbors would pay—the goal is to teach them the value of money and if you cheapen it,
they will!
3. Encourage them to make donations to charity. If you expose your children to
genuine poverty and help them see how a small amount of their money can make a
difference for someone who is struggling, it will help them not only appreciate the value
of money, but adopt a kind and generous attitude.
4. Help them open a bank account. As soon as your children are ready, help them open
a bank account. Then, they can begin to earn interest and understand how the financial
system works. Don’t do it before they are eight years old. They won’t be able to
understand the concept of a bank holding their money. Don’t wait past their twelfth
birthday since teenagers have a dangerous ability to dismiss and ignore their parents. Do
it while you have maximum influence and they are ready to learn. Make sure they learn
how to make deposits and withdrawals all on their own.
5. Involve them with college savings. Even though your kids should contribute to their
college education expenses, most parents recognize that the high cost of college
effectively puts this burden on the parents. Open an account for each of your children and
make contributions to each one equitably. Show them how their fund is growing—and
how it compares to the cost of the education they want. Don’t put this money in their
name unless you have extraordinarily high confidence in their judgment. You’d hate to
see the college fund become a beautiful new car for high school or a frozen banana stand
on the beach after high school graduation.

925 Ideas to Help You Save Money and Get Out of Debt and Retire a Millionaire by Devin D. Thorpe