Wonder what kind of money manager your children will be? Look in the mirror. When it comes to money, you are your child’s most influential teacher. Don’t sit back and hope they learn this from the government, at school, on the playground or by osmosis. These tips will help you step-up and teach your kids how to manage the money in their lives now.

• Are you very organized with your finances? Create a similar system, scaled down for your children.
• Are you a mess with your money? Then get your financial house in order in full view of your children, or risk raising another generation damaged by the risky business of poor financial management. Organize bills, start tracking what you spend, start a budget. Get the kids involved. Show them what gets spent and how much money is earned to begin to help them understand that money is not limitless. That money has boundaries.
• Have you made money mistakes? Come clean and let your kids know that you are not perfect. Show them how you are going to fix the money mistake. This gives them permission to make a money mistake and confidence that they will recover — just like you!

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