Education Lady

Dear Education Lady,

When is the right time to start letting my kids know about money? I am starting to feel like a bank teller with my pre-teen daughter.

Dear Money-Bags Mom,

The time is now and really begins in the womb, but no worries you don’t have to rewind the clock to late night cravings and more stretch marks.

Lets face it, money matters matter.

While that might be poorly stated grammatically, it’s the truth. You deal with money each and every day and you need to set your child up on the right path to do the same.

If you’re pre-teen already sees you as an ATM machine, it’s time for some serious money matters education.

First, you are not an ATM machine. Right?

That should bring a hiss of relief and if it doesn’t, ask yourself why you want to be that to your kids.

It’s time to stop using money as a tool to make your kids happy, make your kids behave and instead teach them that money is made based on the value they bring to the table.
When you go to your job each day, mom or dad, does your boss greet you at the door with a crisp $20?

I hear the laughter all the way down in the Fabulous Florida Keys! And if you’re not laughing, it’s time to start crying because this is your child’s reality at 18, 21 or 25 when they move out and start earning their own cash, paying their own bills and have no clue how to do any of the above.

So, it’s time to start teaching your kids how to get paid just as you get paid in life. Mom or Dad, when you increase your value in the marketplace by increasing your skill, you are more valuable to your employer and therefore you make more what? Money!

We must must must. Yep, three musts! Stop teaching our children that money is something they simply get and instead make it something they earn.

Back in the old days, we had things called chores. Some of you might remember those. These chores included things like:

·      Taking out the trash

·      Washing the car

·      Bathing the family dog

·      Folding laundry

·      Emptying the dishwasher

·      Washing the dishes

·      Clearing the dinner table

·      Mopping the floors

·      Cleaning your room

Stop being the ATM today and pick something from the “chores lists” that your child can do to earn a dollar or two. Not twenty.

Start now, teaching your children how to increase their value, by increasing their skills, encouraging a good work ethic and an understanding of money. Doing so now, will give your offspring an incredible head start on life that only 2% of the population very receives.

Do not leave it up to the school to teach your child about money.

Seriously, think back and really reflect on how much money education on assets, liabilities and debt you received from over 14,000 hours of education from age 5 to high school graduation.

Most get none! Zip, zero, nada.

Start young. Start now.

And check out this amazing program that can really help you educate your children on money matters and so much more called Grooming The Next Generation. You can see my review of Dani Johnson’s amazing class coming soon.

And if you're like 98 percent of America, who are living paycheck to paycheck and statistically will end up "dead or dead-broke by the age of 65" then you might just want to look into Dani's amazing program War On Debt that has personally changed my own views on money, teaching kids about money and how to get out of debt in 5-7 years, including your mortgage! Now isn't that worth teaching your kids...?

Post your comments below and tell me what you think.