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Raising Financially Fit Kids
RAISING FINANCIALLY FIT KIDS by Joline Godfrey
I was looking for a financial book that gave me better ideas of how to teach my younger children more than just the “give, save & spend” philosophy you can find everywhere. This book gave me great tips on what to do at each age range. I highly recommend it especially if you have children interested in money.
I’m bent on giving our children an education in personal finance while they’re still home. I hope they make the bulk of their mistakes, and take to heart the lessons my husband and I share with them, before they leave our nest. In all things, not just financial, I hope our children start adult life with more tools than we had.
Here are some of the ideas found in the book.
9-12 year olds:
- Take calculator shopping
- Discuss needs vs. wants
- Introduce utility bills
- Order annual report of favorite company & research
- Start a collection of items that increase in value over time
- Read a biography of an entrepreneur who turned a passion into a business
- Introduce other savings vehicles besides savings accounts
- Discuss importance of interest rates over time
- Work a charity
- Let them be in charge of their savings account
- Have them call for competitive prices on an item they are going to buy
- Discuss impulse buying
- Discuss the concept “Dreams+money+self control=reality”
- Learn how to read the stock section
Teenagers:
- Put together a group of financial mentors
- Mother-daughter investment club
- Let them open a checking account and be in charge of it
- Research different careers and how to get paid what you’re worth
- Discuss insurance policies and their importance (health, life, home, car)
- Discuss accumulation vs. consumption
- Research credit cards fully
- Discuss the concept “money=independence”
- Have child handle larger and larger shares of spending budget
- Internships
- Using skill/talents to earn money
- Discuss tipping
- Discuss estate planning (yours and theirs)
- Teach how to check own credit rating
- Review child’s budget quarterly
- Deeper teaching of giving and social responsibility
What a great post. Thanks for sharing. My daughter is a natural saver, but my son is a natural spender, and I’m really having to make sure he gets a more financially responsible before too long. I’ll have to try to find that book at our used book store.
These sound like great homeschooling work for me! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! Great ideas and I will have to check out this book!
I just checked and our library has the book – so I put it on hold…sounds like it has some great ideas…thanks.
Those are all really good ideas. My neice has been in charge of her own savings account since she was about 7. I have to say she doesn’t like spending her money.
Sounds like a great book. Your summary clued me in that maybe we’re not doing all we should in that area for my ‘tween and teen.
Thanks for add to my to-read list!
When my kids get a dollar – earned or given to them – they immediately want to go to the dollar store. So, yeah, maybe I need this book. I suppose they should learn how to save their money instead of spending it on junk all the time.
This looks like a great book! My kids are 7,5,3 and 1. Even at their early age, I have decided it is worth being open and honest about what we are doing (and trying to do- paying off debt) with our money. At first my husband wasn’t sure about this approach but now he wishes his parents had been more forth-coming with him as a child. It would have helped him be responsible as an adult. Thanks for passing on the book info!
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