Thanks to my friend and client Eddie Mac for passing on this excellent article about raising your kids with a good set of values around money.
New York Times contributor Ron Lieber wrote How to Raise a Financial Wizard after reading a book by twenty something Zac Bissonnette titled, “How to Be Richer, Smarter, and Better-Looking Than Your Parents.”
Lieber wondered how exactly Bissonette's parents raised their financial wizard, which got him thinking further about other twenty something financial experts and how their parents raised them to be so smart around money issues at such a young age.
So Lieber also interviewed the parents of Ramit Sethi, author of “I Will Teach You to Be Rich,” and financial planners Lauren Lyons Cole and Brittney Castro parents as well.
The common thread was a memory of a money habit or money system that the parents taught their kids. Read about the tracking-every-penny-spent notebook technique, (which is a big part of the Your Money or Your Life philosophy) the floor mat story, which focuses on negotiating - everything, and the power of being a bargain hunter through couponing and flea markets.
What all these parents did was to lead by example and instill good money values in their kids. Through their own journeys, they taught them to have a good relationship with money. Well done parents, your kids are doing some great work.
Image credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/nojhan/