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Teaching Kids to Handle Money. By: Zoe Mount, MFT Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto December 7 th , 2008. Introduction. A little about me What is an MFT? What kind of people do I see? Why this topic now?. Overview. This seminar will cover teaching kids to Handle money Budget
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Teaching Kids to Handle Money By: Zoe Mount, MFT Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto December 7th, 2008
Introduction • A little about me • What is an MFT? • What kind of people do I see? • Why this topic now?
Overview • This seminar will cover teaching kids to • Handle money • Budget • Stay out of debt • Save
Teach What at What Age? • What can a preschooler understand? • What can a school child understand? • What can a pre-teen understand? • What can a teen understand?
A Quick Note • It is hard to teach what you don’t model– take a good look in your (financial) mirror. • Do you pay your bills on time? • Do you keep your credit card debt down? • Would you worry if your children handled money as you do?
Teaching Kids to Handle Money • How to model paying bills when it’s all automatic? • Bring automation to your child’s attention. • Make a production of paying any bills you still pay with a check/envelope.
Teaching Kids to Handle Money Making finances fun • Playing money games (Monopoly, Life, CashFlow) • Games with real bills: ‘which number is biggest? Which is lowest? Which shows up every month?
Life Is The Best Teacher Let Kids Have Their Own Money • This means ‘no strings attached’. • Letting kids handle their own money teaches them lessons early.
Let Kids Have Their Own Money • This also means access to their money. • Cash on hand or debit card
Benefits of an Allowance • Gives kids their own money. • Sets up assumption of daily/weekly chores. • Gets chores off your to-do list!
Ways to Encourage Saving • Help them invest in stocks/bonds • Don’t make money ‘disappear’ • Offer interest on savings held with you
How to Foster Responsibility • Expect it. • Praise efforts, improvements. • No loans/forwarding allowance. • Make them pay for their own luxuries.
How to Foster Responsibility • Make them pay for their own luxuries, such as: • Phones • iPods • Entertainment • Transportation • Food
Avoid Forced Saving • No one tells adults how much to save, how charitable to be. • $10 allowance -$1 savings - $1 charity = $8 allowance and we all know it.
A Different Approach • Instead, let them see you save, donate to charity. • Tell them why you do it.
Other Ideas • Employ budgets and profit sharing
More on Budgets • Grocery shopping • Family dinners • Clothes shopping
What’s With Profit Sharing? • If child saves money from on family budget, split savings between household and child.
Recommended Reading Some books I found helpful: • The First National Bank of DadOwen, D. • The Answer is No!Whitman, C.
Miscellaneous • When to start allowance? • How much allowance? • How paid?
More Miscellaneous Advantages to teaching your kids about money: • They won’t move back home. • You won’t have to worry. • They can support you!
Any Questions? Now it’s your turn to talk!