Money and Allowance this Week on #DadChat

Mark your calendars and come on over to twitter on Thursday!  I have been invited to join Bruce Sallan on his weekly #DadChat this Thursday, September 5th from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. PT/9:00 – 10:00 p.m. ET to talk about money and allowance.  Let's knock out this sense of entitlement and teach our kids the value of a dollar!  To join the party, just go to twitter and follow #DadChat on Thursday.

Image by Bruce Sallan

Bruce Sallan is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host, a columnist and a published author of "A Dad's Point of View" and "The Empty Nest Road Trip Blues."  Most importantly, he's a father of two boys and regularly shares his adventures in parenting.  His weekly tweet chat, #DadChat, has become the biggest parent chat on twitter and happily has equal participation of Dads and Moms.  #DadChat set the World Record in January, 2013 for the most “Impressions” of any chat ever at 267,000,000 +.

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11 Board Games that Teach Money Skills

If you have kids, you have probably been asked to play a board game with them at some point.  Board games can provide an evening of family entertainment and can also initiate discussions of financial concepts in a relevant manner for kids.  Here are eleven great board games that incorporate basic financial topics.

1.  Monopoly - No list of board games would be complete without Monopoly, the world's most popular and best selling board game.  Buy & sell real estate, collect rents and rush to pass Go so that you can get your $200.


2.  Life - Another classic game!  Your goal in "Life" is to avoid bad luck and makes some money.  Along the way you can earn bonuses by doing good deeds and helping your community.  You win by retiring with the most money.


3.  Payday - A personal favorite of mine from childhood!  The Payday game board is set up like a monthly calendar and you must get through the month to get to your payday.  The month is full of financial bonuses, such as winning the lottery, and financial pitfalls, such as extra bills or bad investments.  You play as many months as you like and whoever has the most money at the end, wins the game.

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Did You Make Money Mistakes as a Teen?

I recently read an honest, wide-open account of how a young man blew through $100,000 before he turned 21 (iheartbudgets.com). His story has resonated with me and I have been thinking of mistakes that I made as a teen or a young adult.  I inherited a small sum of money ($1000) from my grandfather and just used it for lifestyle choices in college --- pizza, movies, clothes, etc.  I never even considered saving it or investing it.  The money disappeared within a year.  Everyone seems to make mistakes with their money at some point.


I want to write an upcoming post about common mistakes that teens and young adults make with their money and how we can most effectively prevent these mistakes from happening.  Would you take a few moments to share your experiences and thoughts with me by answering some questions?   

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Debt Collection: An Overlooked Area of Financial Education

From 401Kcalculator.org

 As a mom of four and a teacher, I promote financial education for kids and teens all the time.  It is the purpose of this blog and a dominate reason behind our MoneyTrail App.  I can talk about it until I am "blue in the face."  Kids and teens need to learn to be responsible with their money, making thoughtful decisions and learning from their mistakes.  I commonly say that it is better for them to make mistakes while they are young as opposed to when they leave home and get their first credit card.  However, as all parents know, sometimes teens don't listen.

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SheWill, Inc. Provides Financial Literacy for Girls, Ages 8 - 17

I would like to introduce you to one of my new financial literacy friends, Sheena Williams.  Sheena is the young woman behind SheWill, Inc., an organization dedicated to preparing young girls for "successful, career oriented futures free from debt and irresponsible financial decisions."  I originally met Sheena on Twitter, but since she is in the Atlanta area, we have met for breakfast several times and have become good friends.  Sheena is truly passionate about teaching financial literacy to young girls and this passion shines through in her work.

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Let's Talk about Money! 4 Tips for Starting the Conversation with Your Child

Image via paulhami on flikr

Would you ever hand your car keys to a teen that has never driven?  Would you hand a book to a 4 year old child and expect her to learn to read it by herself?  I am guessing that most folks would answer "No" to both of those questions.  When teaching a child or a teen new skills, there has to be some parental interaction and guidelines.

The same thing applies to teaching a child or teen about money management.  If you just hand your child a wad of money, they will learn very little about responsible money management.  There has to be ongoing conversations and consistent guidelines (regardless of whether your child gets an allowance or not) in order for your child to become financially literate.  I was thrilled to find two articles recently that covered this topic.

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A Conversation with David Domzalski from Financial Bin

I was honored yesterday to be interviewed on a podcast with David Domzalski of Financial Bin, a company that focuses on personal finance and entrepreneurial education for the Generation Y age group.  If you haven't checked out his website, please do.  It is a fabulous resource for personal finance, budgeting, wealth, real estate and entrepreneurship.  He has a long list of highly qualified contributors that keep their content fresh and relevant.  David also hosts podcasts several times a week so scoot on over to his site and take a look around.

Here is the internet radio segment of David and me talking about MoneyTrail and teaching kids & teens about money.

Listen to internet radio with FinancialBin on Blog Talk Radio

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Using the Stock Market to Teach Teens about Investments

I am always on the lookout for new ways to introduce and teach money skills to teens.  I have heard a lot about using the stock market to help teens learn about investments.  After doing some research, I found three different ways to use the stock market as a teaching tool for teen financial literacy.

Image created on www.wordle.net

Board Games:  Board games are fun and entertaining and there is no reason why we can’t learn a few things while playing them.  Teachers often use board games to reinforce lessons that they have taught in class.  Parents can even sneak a few of these into their family game nights!  The following board games have been designed to teach stock market skills and/or personal finance skills.

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My Interview with Rock Your Block

Rock Your Block is a Facebook and mobile application that helps teens find job opportunities in their community. It's all location-based, so teens build a dynamic online resume that they can easily send off to local employers.  "Rock Your Block empowers teens to learn invaluable life-skills and develop a strong work ethic at an early age – ultimately setting them up for long-term success."

I have had the pleasure of getting to know the folks at Rock Your Block through several conversations.  Today they posted an interview with me about the importance of family involvement with teaching kids and teens about money management.  Here is the beginning of the interview.  Please click through to their site to read the full story.

As teens find opportunities to make money in their communities, Rock Your Block wants to make sure that they have the right tools and resources to track their earnings and spending, set money-saving goals, and learn the overall importance of money management. Parents play a vital role in instilling financial management values in their children, and our interview with Pam Whitlock, founder of Atlanta-based MoneyTrail highlights the importance of involving the entire family in money matters and how their application helps cater to the needs of today’s busy families.  Read the full interview...

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Teaching Your Kids about Money: January Edition

Part One:  How do kids get money? 

 

To kick off our series Teaching Kids about Money, we are tackling the most basic concepts, earning & using money, in January. 

Part One:  How do kids get money?    

Part Two:  How much control should kids have over their money?

There are many different sources of income that enable kids and teens to have their own money.  We are going to look at:

• Allowance
• Gifts
• Jobs from Parents
• Entrepreneurial endeavors
• Part time jobs

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Bored Teens? 10 Inexpensive Activities to Keep Teens Entertained

Last week, Melissa over at www.momsplans.com  wrote about frugal activities to entertain young kids while they are home for the winter break.  That got me thinking about what my family is going to do over the holidays.  My four kids are ages 8, 11, 15 and 18. Brittany and Dwight, my two teenagers, are pretty good at entertaining themselves.  However, they do not have an endless supply of entertainment money.   Here are some activities that they like to do when they are running low on cash:

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Budgeting the Holiday Wish List with Older Kids and Teens

The holiday season is usually a fun and exciting time for kids, teens and families.  I can remember going through the Sears Wish book when I was a kid and circling the toys that I really wanted.  I have seen that same gleam of excitement in the eyes of my kids.  However, when kids are asked to make lists for Santa, grandparents, parents and other relatives, the focus on “what do I want” can sometimes turn into an attitude of “gimme, gimme, gimme.”   Introducing a budget limit for the wish list can help reduce the “gimmes”. 

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The Teen Corner: How to Survive the Holidays on a Teen's Budget

Our guest blogger today is Brittany, my 18 year old daughter.  For a brief introduction, Brittany is a senior in high school and is active in the chorus and Beta club.  She plays the guitar and enjoys photography.  Brittany actually provides most of the photos that I use on the blog. 

Hello! We've got a new twist on today's blog entry, as I (Brittany!) am writing this entry in place of my mom who normally runs this site. She asked me to talk to you guys today because let's face it- Christmas is a fun and wonderful time for everyone but it can also be extremely stressful, especially for those of us who are shopping on a tight budget. I know that many teens are stuck in a similar situation that I am during the holiday season: we don't have enough time to work a part time job because of school or extracurricular activities so we're short on money, but we still desperately want to give awesome gifts to our friends and family. Giving gifts has been my favorite part of the holiday season for a long time (as those of you who read last Thursday's blog probably figured out), so over the past few years I've discovered some great ways to survive Christmas time on a tight budget without breaking your bank.

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Kids, Chores & Money

Image by Brittany Whitlock

There are many opinions about paying children and teens for chores.  Many people are opposed to paying for tasks that help run the family household.  Other folks use money to encourage kids to complete the tasks and compare it to getting a paycheck as an adult.  I personally don’t think there is a right or wrong answer to this age-old dilemma.  I think each family has to find the method and theory that works best for them.  

Here at the Whitlock household, we have been using a combination of expected chores and optional paid jobs with our four kids for many years.   We have chores that the kids are required to do just because their last name is Whitlock.  There are other jobs that we will pay them to do when they want to earn extra money.  The assignment of the chores and the amount of money paid for the optional jobs will vary depending on the age of the child who is doing the task. (Our kids range in age from 8 – 18.)  

Here are the most common chores and jobs for our kids.

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Pam's Picks: Teaching Kids about Money

Each week, I spend a lot of time reading new articles and blogs about kids, teens, money and financial literacy.  I'll even pop over to YouTube and see what's going on over there. In "Pam's Picks", I will share some great articles and videos with you.




Teaching your kids about money involves more than learning to count pennies and dollars.  It encompasses topics such as saving, living within your means, investing, and avoiding impulse purchases.  I ran across several marvelous articles this week that put a new spin on how to teach kids about money.


8 Habits that Separate Doers from Dreamers by Dan Kadlec on www.moneyland.time.com
Are you a Doer or a Dreamer?  Dan shares 8 habits that can lead to reaching retirement goals and raising money-smart kids.  Read the article...

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Book Review: Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids

Clark Howard is a nationally recognized radio-show host and bestselling book author.  He is generally regarded as a money-saving expert and his motto is “Save More, Spend Less and Avoid Getting Ripped Off.”  Clark is also a father of three and combined his money savvy skills with his parenting experience to create Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids.  This book was originally published in 2005 but his advice and thoughts are timeless for any parent who is concerned with teaching their child money management skills.

The opening sentence conveys the theme of the book.  “Teaching young children about money produces a trifecta of benefits:  it helps them in school, it helps them with values, and it helps you save money.”

Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids is divided into sections by age:  kids, teens, adult children and your parents.  There is also a section with worksheets, activities and resources.  For the purposes of this blog, I am only going to share with you the highlights of the kids and teens sections.

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Moving Beyond "What do You want to be When You Grow Up?"

If I had a dollar for every time I heard the phrase “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I could take a really snazzy vacation!  It is one of the more common phrases that adults (myself included) ask kids.  It starts when they are in preschool and continues until they are in high school.  Then the questions often change to “Where are you going to college?” and “What are you majoring in?”. 

We have an opportunity to move beyond these basic questions with our children and get them thinking about deeper concepts --- careers that fit their personalities and talents, goals (both personal and professional ) for different stages of their lives and steps they can take at a young age to get closer to their dreams.  I am not saying that we should sit down our 8 year old and subject him to an intense job interview and personality exam.  However, over time through normal conversations and everyday life, we could plant the seeds of thought so that when our teens are ready to leave the nest, they will have more specific ideas, goals and plans.

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Encouraging Entrepreneurship in Kids & Teens, Part One

I recently came across a video of Cameron Herold giving a speech entitled “Raising Kids to be Entrepreneurs.”  Cameron is a business coach, mentor and CEO coach who is passionate about recognizing entrepreneurial traits in kids and developing those traits into lifelong skills. 

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Kids, Money & Family Finances

I was interviewed by Kimberly from 4Virtue Family Focus for a podcast about Family Finances and how that relates to teaching kids about money management.  4virtu is a free, secure networking and organizational management system with a family-centric approach. They deliver a solution for today’s busy families to organize while saving time & money; to simplify and manage communications with the organizations they belong to; and to connect & enrich local communities. Check out the interview about kids and money...

Listen to internet radio with ParasolCommunications on Blog Talk Radio

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Mom, Can You Buy Me a New Saxophone?

I am a big believer in using everyday moments with our kids to teach them the basic concepts of financial literacy and money management.  Making the connection between familiar events and abstract concepts creates a more meaningful, relevant understanding.  I was lucky enough to have one of these moments recently with my 11 year old.

During the first week of middle school, he came home and announced that he wanted to play the tenor saxophone.  Then he proceeds to ask if we would buy him one.   (Important background info:   we bought him a good quality, used Alto Sax two years ago.  He really enjoys playing it, practices on his own and is in the school band this year.)   He just wanted to try something new and didn’t consider the financial aspect of his request to buy another saxophone.   He and I talked about the options:

1. We could spend a few thousand dollars and buy him a new Tenor Sax.  This wasn't going to happen.
2. We could spend $300 - $400 to rent a Tenor Sax for the school year.  I felt this was a bit much for a spur of the moment request.
3. We could say "No."  Initially, I did say "No".  However, after about a week, he was still asking about this instrument.  Perhaps this wasn't a passing fad or an instant gratification moment. 

So...

     4.  We looked into other options.  I knew from prior experience that occasionally, the school will own instruments that are available for the use of the students.  I emailed the band director and learned that there was indeed a tenor sax available.  We could rent it for the entire school year for $25.  

This final option fit within our existing band budget for the year and was able to allow our son to try out a new activity.  Most importantly, he was able to be involved in a financial planning process that was meaningful and relevant to him.    Time will only tell whether the Tenor Sax holds his interest.  For the moment, we are all happy with the decision that was made.  And...I haven't even needed to buy ear plugs!

 

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