Parents – take note: Grandparents can be a powerful tool in the process of teaching your kids how to be smart about money.
I grew up with my grandmother who lived with us, and everything she said – I heard. My mom and dad? Well, not so much.
My grandmother had a distinct (maybe a bit unfair?) advantage over my parents. And my parents were smart enough to see how powerful a resource my grandmother could be in their quest to raise me to be smart about money.
Holiday money mistakes are a great teachable moment for kids. It’s easy to break the bank during the holiday season. Talk openly with your kids – always in an age-appropriate way – about gift-giving this past season and discuss options to make sure next year’s spending stays within budget.
Discuss starting a holiday savings account now where money is deposited each month in preparation for the end of year spending. Consider layaway options for bigger gifts. Plan for homemade gifts. Maybe a summer garden will provide the family with the makings of some homemade jam to gift next December. And don’t forget to think about the opportunities to earn some extra cash this summer when school is out. A good old-fashioned lemonade stand could help make a nice contribution to the holiday savings account.
Over 5 years ago I met Chicago City Treasurer Stephanie Neely when we both volunteered as Principals for a Day at a south side elementary school in Chicago. I gave her a Money Savvy Pig so she could give it to her then 4-year-old son so they had something visual at home to help them talk about money. Over the holidays, the Treasurer shared her story with the Chicago Examiner of the impact the Money Savvy Pig has had on her son becoming a “determined saver”. Here’s a link to the article: http://www.examiner.com/city-hall-in-chicago/federal-program-teaches-youth-about-money
Since that first meeting, Treasurer Neely has become a wonderful partner and advocate to help reach young Chicago Public School students with lessons of financial literacy. With the Treasurer, through The Money Savvy Generation Foundation, we created a truly unique and rewarding program called the Financial Education Initiative for Students and Families. To see a video of the impact from the 2011 program, click below.
Thank you, Treasurer Neely, for sharing the Money Savvy Pig with your son – and for making financial literacy a priority in Chicago. Because of you, and the other program supporters, over 200,000 Chicago Public School elementary students have learned about the basics of personal finance over the last few years. Lessons that will last a lifetime. Thank you!
It’s that time of year again. The holidays are done and the New Year’s headache is cured. Or is it? Now we wait for the end-of-the-year bills to arrive.
If you did not overspend, let your kids share in the victory.
Talk as a family about how you stayed within your budget. Did you make a list of all those you wanted to remember and take that list with you to the mall each and every time you shopped? Did you place a dollar amount next to the name and make sure you did not exceed that amount? Did you discuss what you had to “give” to gift-giving before you went out and shopped? Did you come up with ideas that would replace a purchased gift – like baking or a gift of time or a talent?
Leverage your “purchase fatigue” and your family’s contentment as you think about next year. Continue reading
