This month I shared my thoughts on how to launch kids toward financial security in MONEY Magazine.  Here are those tips:

Money Magazine- Susan Beacham Q&A: Launching Kids Toward Financial Security_2013_09

Having the (Money) Talk Before College happening at your house?  No?  Well it’s time and should take place before your student leaves.  Consider the tips I offer in my guest column on Jean Chatzky’s blog this week!

Here’s the link:  http://bit.ly/17Nv9r5

“NEW STUDY CONFIRMS ADULT MONEY HABITS ARE SET BY THE AGE OF SEVEN YEARS OLD”*

I was frustrated when I read this headline that proclaimed that money habits are set in a child by the age of seven.  Seriously?  Seven?  So I contacted one of the co-authors of the study, Dr. David Whitebread of Cambridge University, and asked for the full study to see for myself if this was really true.  What I found out was that the headline was more provocative than the results – but not by much.

The actual study concludes that money habits can be shaped in children starting as early as age 4 as kids have the developmental abilities to learn good money habits.  And, by the age of seven, some core money behavior has indeed been established. Continue reading

My oldest, Allison, is a gifted writer.  Allison is a rising senior in college and a creative writing major. Her writing has been commended for her frank, sometimes touching and often humorous insights into her topic. I asked her to submit the tips below to a writer friend of mine and this was the result.  I liked hearing these novel tips from the “boots on the ground” so to speak – where her insights were learned the hard way and very personally – as I am sure you will as well.

8 Tips for Landlords, Renters in the Under-30 Crowd – Money Under 30