What to teach my kids about $$

[Jacob Fitzgerald]

I have 7 kids... here are some things teach and how I pray it conveys to the future

1) Be a active helpful member of family

- being helpful in society

2) Don’t expect handouts !! Work to better others first and in turn they will pay you for it

- allowance is welfare earn by going over and beyond

you normal job/chores

3) Three things to do with the money they have

Give, save , spend

- Others first (charity/tithe), their futures ,

needs/wants

What are some things y’all teach you kids?!?

[Lynnette E.]

One of my kids will turn 16 in July, the other just turned 16 in May.  I teach my kids EVERYTHING! I try to use more 'fun' types of books when it is book learning such as the Life of Fred book on Financial Choices:

https://www.lifeoffred.uniquemath.com/lof-financia...

In this book you will learn:

• What Jane Austen Said about a Single Man with a Good Fortune
• The Difference Between Income and Assets
• The Difference Between Expenses and Liabilities
• Two Ways to Compute Your Financial Health
  • Budgeting vs. Net Worth
  • Needs vs. Wants
• Three Arguments Against Overspending
• Which Assets Lose Value Quickly
• Fiat Currency
• Figuring Future Value under Compound Interest
• Figuring How Long to Pay off a $5,000 Loan at 18% Interest with Payments of $80/month (Most College Graduates with Science Majors Don't Know How to Compute That)
• Setting Goals for Your Life
  • Financial
  • Physical
  • Family
  • Spiritual
  • Mental
• Factors in Deciding Where to Live – 16 Questions to Help Decide
• Detailed Guide to the Five Asset Classes
  • Real Estate
  • Education
  • Paper
  • Things
  • and a Business That You Own
• Buying Furniture, Clothes, and Cars
• Buying vs. Renting a Place to Live
• How to Decide How Much to Spend–Fancy or Cheap?
• How to Retire in 24 Years
• Rule of 72
• Investing in Real Estate–What to Buy and What Price to Pay
• The Use of Leverage
• Investing in Education – the Seven Advantages of College and Also Reasons Not to Go
• Paper Investments
  • Stocks
  • Bonds
  • Mortgages
  • REITS
  • Certificates of Deposits
  • Mutual Funds
• Investing in Things You Can Touch
  • Art
  • Baseball Cards
  • Rare Books
  • Gems, Gold and Silver
• Owing Your Own Business
• The Story of Inflation in Germany in the 1920s
• One Key to Business Success
• When to Hire–the Seven-times Rule
• Arguments for Being Employed/Going on Welfare/Owning a Business
• What It Means to Take an Oath
• How to Choose Which Business to Own
• When to Choose Which Business You Want to Be In
• The First Step after Choosing Your Business
• Reinventing Who You Are in 5,000 Hours
• How to Keep Your Drive Alive
• Money vs. Happiness
• Seven Ways to Get Startup Capital
• Dealing with Failure
• Dealing with Age/Height/Being in Prison/Ill Health
• Five Suggestions for Finding a Supportive Spouse
• Dealing with Procrastination/ Windfalls/Falling in Love/It's-free Offers
• What Not to Talk about When You First Meet a Potential Spouse
• What to Disclose on the Third Date
• Checklist of Personal Habits for Success
  • How to Dress
  • How to Talk on the Phone
  • How to Make Eye Contact
  • How to Shake Hands
• Learning Skills in Negotiating
• Insurance–What to Buy and What Not to Buy
• The Hard Task of Making Decisions That Close off Alternatives in Your Life
• Leading a Balanced Life and Still Retiring in 24 Years
• Nine Barriers to Financial Success
• How Wealth in a Society Is Created
• Overcoming the Psychological Barriers to Sunk Costs–Deciding Not to Continue Being a Dentist.

This book is written for 10th grade through adult.  We just bought it for August reading.

They also do a lot of hands on learning.

They are keeping the records for the future rental properties.  They each 'claim' the rentals they want to manage when we buy them.  We discuss the things that need to be done, what we can do, the money it saves for us to say demo, paint, vinyl plank flooring vs. contracting it out.  The amount of time we have for 'work' vs. fun vs. other thinks.  They are involved in deciding who to contract each thing with, releasing contractors who can not preform, etc.  Last year all the records were in a notebook, hand written.  This year, after I decide what to use for accounting they will put the records in an electronic form.  They write the checks to pay the bills.  I just sign them.

They each have their own savings account with $15-16k each and just started their ROTH IRAs last year with money they earned from demo and painting work on the future rentals. A local bank allows the minor children to manage their own accounts on their signature with the parent's consent when opening the account, so they manage their savings themselves. They choose how to invest their IRA money with the financial advisor I used. He discusses my assets he manages each year in a meeting that they tag along for, so they had learned how my money is invested and each knew what they wanted to do with their IRAs...and that they wanted ROTH. Through the financial advisor they have learned about stocks, bonds, different 'packaging' for stock and bonds, cds, and annuities. (They know to shoot me if I say to buy an annuity.) They know that family businesses, like our rental business, that are not incorporated can hire family members who are under 18 and not have to pay SS taxes, and under 21, do not need to pay unemployment taxes.

They attend the meetings with the insurance agent when we buy a new asset and have learned about insurance, even answering the questions for the assets they will manage.  They are learning bout limits, deductions, liability, etc.

They meet with my attorney for my will and Trust, and know how they are set up and who will eventually manage what.

They know that business is business and charity is charity, and are learning how to apply that.  For example, when my parents had a very long term renters who had financial difficulty, my parents supplied them with food for a month, but they had to pay the rent.  They also paid for their medicine for that month.  They also have participated in more random acts of charity such as an elderly lady who did not have the money for her water/sewer bill when we were paying for our rental's bills in the adjacent line.  We paid $100 towards her bill and walked away with her crying and saying You don't even know us, thank you..."  They volunteer at a food bank one Saturday a month.  So they are learning about giving money, but also time and caring.  Character development is more important than finances to me.

My parents let me be very involved in their finances and it helped me a lot.  I want to pass that on to my kids.  I do not water things down for them, but do make it practical.

Looking forward to new ideas from this post!