Grandparents I hear from are deeply invested in shaping money smart grandchildren, as many feel they fell short with their own kids.

Often, when I am working with parents on this topic, parents ask me how to involve their parents in the financial education of their kids. They, the parents, want to “manage” nana and papa’s input in a good way – 😉

I know firsthand the power of a grandparent as I grew up with my grandmother in our home and everything she said – even if identical to my mom and dad – was brilliant. Everything mom and dad said, well, it was suspect!

To help grandparents leverage this role they play in their grandchild’s life, here are a few ideas from grandparents who have written to me Continue reading

Each November, I sit down to write about gift-giving.  I try to allay your fears that you cannot afford to spend enough to make your loved ones feel really loved.  Or worse, that you will spend so much trying to fulfill their every wish that you will far exceed the amount your budget can bear.  So this year, rather than telling you that there is more to the holidays than being a smart shopper, I’d like to show you.

Over the years, I have received many holiday gifts from my family. But each one has given me one special gift that stands out.  Allison, my oldest, gave me five letters one year.  The envelopes read: “Open when you need…Some Lovin’, Some Happy, Some Inspiration, Some Wisdom.”  The letters within take my breath away each and every time I read them.

My youngest recently gave me a deck of cards hole-punched and kept together with two metal rings.  The cover card reads: “52 Reasons Why I Love You!”  I could barely get through the deck. Continue reading

Money Savvy Pig bank makes CCI’s list of great ways to teach money lessons to kids.

This month, Kimberly Rotter with CreditCardinsider.com asked me, along with several other financial literacy experts, to weigh in on various ways adults can approach money lessons with their kids at different ages. The final piece includes some stats we are all too familiar with:

     • Half of the U.S. wealth gap is connected to the vastly different financial knowledge levels of  the affluent and the poor.

     • Only 4 states currently require students to complete a personal finance course to graduate from high school.

     • Just 17 states include personal finance instruction in their curriculum requirements.

But, we know that starting young is the key to helping kids better understand their money options – and to manage them wisely!

Here’s the link to the final article: “If My Parents Taught Me This As A Child, I’d Be Retired By Now” – CreditCardInsider.com

She’s adorable. She’s having a birthday and all she wants is an Elsa costume from Disney’s wildly popular movie Frozen, the highest grossing animated film in box-office history. To be clear, she wants Elsa, not Anna.  Anna is easier to get.  But Elsa, not so much.  Elsa’s signature attire is selling for roughly $150 retail in Disney stores–if you can find one. Big IF.

Try as they might, Disney cannot keep this item on the shelves.  So, faced with a child’s “heart’s desire” for a highly sought after product, what is a parent to do next?

Continue reading