by Shadra Bruce
In case you haven’t noticed, this country is in a lot of debt. As a country and as individuals, we’ve all gotten used to the idea of living on credit. While for most of us, getting a loan is the only way we could ever afford to buy a house, too many times, the credit card gets pulled out for stuff that it shouldn’t: lunch at McDonalds, that new dress you just have to have for work, date night…you know what I mean.
We’re all learning the very painful lesson of what happens when we let credit get out of control, on a global scale as well as on an individual one. It’s a PERFECT TEACHING MOMENT. If you’re buried in credit debt (and even if you’re not) you can use the situation to help raise a more responsible generation who are more comfortable buying things when they can afford to. We can also teach our kids that it’s ok to buy used, recycle, and find alternate uses for the things we already have rather than heading to the store.
It’s tough to teach kids the value of money without letting them have some to play with. And, if you’re buying everything your kids want, from $300 Nikes to the latest iteration of iPod, you’re not doing them any favors (even if you can afford it).
The only way kids learn the value of money is by having a finite amount of it to spend, being limited to that amount, being forced to save for things they want that cost more than what they have, and making the mistake of buying something with their own money that isn’t worth it.
The younger you can start teaching your kids to be responsible with money, the better. We take our kids grocery shopping with us. We have them help us pick out the best choice and teach them that it’s not just about the price but about the price per unit. We have conversations about marketing and profit motives (and yeah, they get it, even when they’re young).
We also give our kids a little bit of money and let them spend it. We take them to retail stores but we also take them to garage sales and thrift shops. We let them see that sometimes, you can make your money go a long way buying used.
Most importantly, we say no. Not just to the kids but to ourselves. Sure, we wanted a big screen TV three years ago when “everybody else” was buying one. But we just got ours a few months ago when we’d paid off a credit card and I got a big job from a client that provided a little extra cash.
If you are struggling with credit cards, you can do yourself no bigger favor than to put every extra dime into paying them off that you can. There is no savings account, money market account, IRA, or 401K that pays as much in interest as you’re paying to keep a balance on your credit cards. You can set the right example by making the tough choices for yourself and helping your kids understand why.
A great topic Shadra; teaching kids financial responsibility is like teaching them personal hygiene and good manners. It’s not difficult but it’s so often overlooked by parents!