Children today are faced with a very different financial world than the one their Parents faced.
The days of budgeting by putting cash in different envelopes earmarked for bills to pay are a distant memory of what (Great) Grandma used to do.
Nowadays internet banking, credit cards, EFTPOS, Internet shopping, and easy credit is the norm. What used to be a lay-by has evolved to “get it NOW and pay nothing for 3 years”. Many teenagers have mobile phones and ever increasing monthly mobile phone accounts.
The get it now mentality, and the ease with which credit is available means budgeting and saving before buying something seems no longer necessary.
The great danger in this is that many people are buying things today with income they have not yet earnt. Too many people are living beyond their means and getting further and further into debt.
Our children are in danger of thinking this is normal money management.
You can change that, by teaching your kids to save, spend, and invest.
Every day our children come into contact with money, it could be their lunch money, the bus fare or their pocket money.
Every day we have an opportunity to educate our children about good money skills.
Teach little ones to count coins and work out change.
Teach older ones to save up to buy things, and to give to charity.
Discuss sacrificing and compromising to balance the family budget with your whole family. Introduce teenagers to the language of banking and investing.
Good money management skills are learnt. We have a choice whether our children become good money managers or bad money managers.
We have a responsibility to ensure they become good money managers.