Money Traits to Pass Onto Children

We will never have all of the answers, but no matter whether you have had money troubles in the past, or have been on a good streak so far, by the time we are raising our children, we need to pass on our wisdom, or at least teach so they can learn from the mistakes that we made.  At least by teaching early enough the importance of financial responsibility, by the time our children start to earn a little money for themselves they can already be on a positive path forward.

Lead by Example

If our children see us constantly pulling out the credit card and charging whatever we want, not only will they be spoiled, but they will think there is an endless supply of money on that credit card, when in actuality, they will never see you try and pay the bill.  By living within your means, even showing the bill that comes in and when it’s due, can give an idea early on that it money coming in has to far outweigh the money going out, so leading by example right out of the gate can be a great start with a positive influence.

Stick to a Budget

There is a certain amount you can afford each month, bottom line, based upon what you make, so allotting funds between monthly expenses, plus allowing for food, gas, and spending money, not to mention still contributing to savings, it can be a lot to handle.  Whether it be giving your child needing something, giving a few bucks, and having them budget to complete the shopping list, can teach you to spend what you have, but also price compare if you are limited on funds but have plenty of items left to purchase.  After all, you shouldn’t buy anything that is not on sale, right?

Learn the Art of Saving

Now to a child, the talk of retirement will not make much of an impact, in fact it doesn’t with many adults, and they are closer to retirement then being a child, but saving needs to be explained as a need.  Whether it be saving up allowance to buy a new video game, at least that shows that if you want something you need to work, and save for, and not just spend whenever you want, as that creates debt, inability to pay back, and could lead to a lifelong catch up to get out of debt.

Constantly Evolve

Whether it be a budget, household expenses, or monthly income, you need to be flexible, as none listed will be set in stone, at least in the distant future.  Costs rise, jobs change, and you need to be prepared for emergency, so having a little cushion is always important, instead of spending every dollar that you get and waiting until the next payday.  There are some adults that don’t have a penny to their name, so we don’t want our children to follow that path and be on the right track to financial independence.