Many of us grew up wanting things our parents could not afford.
So when we become parents and finally have the means, saying yes feels good.
Yes to the latest shoes. Yes to the new game. Yes to the phone upgrade. Yes to the cereal they tossed into the cart while we weren’t looking.
Providing for our children can feel like proof that we made it.
But there is another question worth asking:
Do our children understand what it took to produce the money that paid for all of it?
If they only experience the buying side of money, we may be raising excellent consumers who have no idea how earning, saving or financial decision-making works.
Money should not feel like magic
My latest Sisternomics guest, Kim Butler, began learning about money in the fourth grade when her parents bought her a cow.
She milked that cow by hand every day through high school. She sold the milk and saved enough to attend a private college with very little student loan debt. What her parents gave her was bigger than a college fund. They gave her years of experience with effort, income, saving and delayed gratification.
I am not suggesting that we all go buy livestock. But our children need some skin in the game. In this episode, Kim walks us through exactly what to do to teach the kiddos the value of money.
What are we putting inside them?
Our children inherit more than our money. They inherit our habits, our attitudes and whatever understanding of money we take the time to place inside them.
Kim offers several ideas that may challenge the way you’ve always handled money. You may not agree with every idea. That’s okay. The point is to stop managing and teaching money on autopilot.
Before you buy your child one more thing, consider what lesson could accompany the purchase.
The shoes will eventually be outgrown. The game will become outdated. But the ability to earn, save and make confident decisions can serve them for the rest of their lives.
Listen to How to do money differently on Sisternomics and download Kim’s free guide, 52 Tips of Perpetual Wealth.
This content is educational and does not replace personalized financial, insurance, tax or legal guidance.
