My 9-Year Old Daughters Money

[Andres Piedra]

I've been slowly teaching my daughter about compounding, not buying candy and other junk just because it is shiny and temporarily cool and that real estate is a great way to make a future. (Yeah, she's nine, but I wish someone told me all this at 9). She has saved up a few hundred dollars and then suddenly wanted to spend it on crap…..all of it! I keep advising her to add to it and let it grow, Grow, GRow, GROw and GROW! And, eventually she could own an entire city.

Then I said, "Ya know, I think with your $179.82 you could buy the entire city of Detroit right now!" Was that wrong?

[Bill B.]

While there are many great points in this thread, I agree with @David T. most. START her NOW in REI. (i.e. make good on your claim that she has enough, or nearly enough, to invest in REI) Give her a goal; match it; keep her involved throughout the deal; and then SHOW her that saving will generate money while she sleeps. Critically, LET her spend 10% or 25% (set a strict limit) of PASSIVE income (she needs to see the reward in the SHORT run....patience is developed LONG after nine....) and save/reinvest the rest. Kids learn best experientially. When she see's how the money is growing with this strategy, she will hopefully be hooked. (.....ya NEVER know what is going on between those ears....sigh.....)

The point I'm making so poorly is that "talking about it" and "explaining it" won't accomplish the goal. I believe that even J Scott (who walks on water in my view) is incorrect. "Explaining" after the "shiny" is gone won't, in my view, connect the dots. Getting a check each month for $100 for doing NOTHING will make her feel like she's become a peer to Donald Trump.

....and.....child psychologists? ....really?..... ....I mean, seriously??,,,,,

We don't need no stinking child psychologists!!!! We need parents of twenty-somethings and above!!!!! We need GRAND-Parents who learned from the first round and FIXED it on the second pass!!!! Bunches and bunches of the people that the psychologists "study"..... :-)

Good luck!!! This is one of the FEW threads I've seen on BP that is more important than REI!!! BUT (to forestall the wrath of the moderators and/or prevent being banned from the site forever for making such RASH comments....) REI, as usual, is the SOLUTION!!!

Good luck!!