My name is Anne T. Meyers, and it turns out my monogram is fitting because everyone in my family thinks I’m an ATM.
I’ve always known that kids need financial wisdom and good money habits. I should. I’m a professor of journalism, specializing in financial reporting, and have been giving professional financial advice for 20 years. But in this economy, which shines a bright, unforgiving spotlight on personal money habits, it’s time to admit I’ve been living by this rule: Take my advice, I’m not using it.
Kids and money is just one of those battles I always seem to choose not to fight in the chaos of day-to-day family life. It’s true. I get tired, and I cave in, despite the fact that I know better. I know all too well what happens when kids who don’t get money training turn into adults, even if they are good earners (we’ll get to my husband’s inability to return a shirt that he never tried on and which doesn’t fit later).
Time to break the bad habits. If you can’t manage discretionary money when you’re making a few dollars mowing lawns or collecting allowance, you’ll never be able to live within your means when you’re a millionaire, either. I owe it to the kids.
And there’s no more putting it off. As a parent and a teacher in this economy, my charges include overgrown kids just out of college looking at a dismal job market, kids in college, and teenagers growing like weeds and getting frighteningly close to college. Aside from teaching at a university level, I’m also the Secretary of the Board of Trustees for a day school. Part of my job there is to enhance the school curriculum with my writing and financial experience. Oh, and one more charge: my elementary school kid, who is well on her way to forming some greedy habits.
It’s to the point where I feel like I’m harming them all, at every developmental stage, by not teaching them. In fact, it’s a great time to teach them because the examples of bad money habit consequences are everywhere.
Besides that, who can afford to be an ATM anymore? We’ll all go broke if we don’t instill a little discipline. So this blog is going to be devoted to test-driving money-saving strategies with kids, discussing what we’ve tried that worked and what didn’t, and looking at some financial tools that can not only save money, but help adults-in-training earn money and build credit.
Let’s hit the kids where they live. My father, a mathematician, once said: I don’t understand why they bother to teach math by any other means than using money. From the very first time a toddler watches a grownup purchase a toy, he has a riveted interest in money. And if you keep that money math lesson relevant, every kid will transform into a master number cruncher.
Indeed, I was taught addition, subtraction, multiplication, algebra, geometry, and calculus all at the mall.
So we’ll be looking at money issues that kids (some in adult bodies, but we know better) can directly relate to. Here’s a glimpse of upcoming blog discussions:
- Preparing for college tuition hikes
- Learning to discuss finances with the whole family
- Establishing credit for your teen
- Picking family vacations the kids will love (without breaking the bank)
- And so much more
If you have any topic ideas you’d like us to tackle, leave us a comment.
