Our Children, Our Money!

[Conversation Lounge]

In today's tough economic world, it's more important than ever to help our children understand the value of the dollars that we earn to support them. In so many homes today, parents often take their hard earned income and turn it over to their children without providing them with the understanding of the power of currency, This can lead to some dissapointing realities in the future when our children finally grow up and begin to earn their own money. Let's look at some of the things that we as parents may all be guilty of at one time or another. How many of us have had the situation when our child just had to have that latest hotest item and we go out and get it for them, without even thinking twice about it. When we do that, we fail our children in this way, by not taking out the time to stop and explain to our child what it takes to earn $150.00 for some gym shoe or an outfit, our child will lack the knowledge, of the scrafice that we have made with our cash. Some of the ways that we can help to give them understanding is to break down to them just how much people make in their daily employment. Our children need to know if you are only making $15.00 an hour that it's going to take you one days wage plus two work hours in the next day just to buy that one pair of shoes or outfit that they want. However sometime that doesn't even register with them. Here is a quick personal example, I took my sons with me to do a painting job that I had landed, when we were done I paid them both 300.00 dollar each. I ask my one son who is a shoe-aholic what was he going to do with his money? I already knew the answer but I just wanted to see had he picked up on any of the lesson that I had been teaching. Short answer, NO. He told me that he was going to by him some Jordans for $150.00, I then asked him was he willing to take half of the money that he had earned and spend it on an item that he probably will lose interest in as soon. He replied yes and he then took one of the previous lesson that I had taught him an use it to make his case. That lesson was "if you make your money you can spend it the way you want", however he left off the part when I said "as long as it is wisely". This matter is in relationship to my previous blog concerning how do we get them to listen early? I get a chuckle now when my sons finally kind of get what I have been trying to give them for free in the past, I guess some lesson are better learned when it your own money at stake.