Teach Kids to Set Financial Goals – Video

Here’s the next in my Kids and Money video series:  Setting Personal Financial Goals

The Mystery Charge – A Teachable Moment

The cell phone bill came in.  It was a little higher than usual, not by much, but enough to get me looking for the reason why.  I consider the cell phone bill a fixed expense.  Technically, it’s not since there is always the possibility that we could go over minutes at which point the charges [...]

How Does a 15-year old Save for a Car?

Ryan just bought a car. And she’s a beauty, too. 2002 baby blue Toyota Prius with only 57,000 miles. Owned by a 91-year old grannie who used it mostly to drive to church and back. No kidding. Problem is, Ryan can’t drive it; never mind he doesn’t have his license. He barely has his permit. [...]

How To Encourage Kids to Save Money

This is the first in a series of Kids and Money Quick Tips videos that I will be putting together. This first one is on getting kids in the habit of saving money.

Should We Reward Good Grades Monetarily?

An interesting article appeared this morning in The Sacramento Bee. Apparently college students can now make bets on their performance in school. Twenty-five bucks says I’ll ace this class. Fifty bucks, I bomb. It’s the genius of two guys, Steven Wolf and Jeremy Gelbart, who point out that, technically, it’s not gambling since students are [...]

Kids Earning Money? Set Up a Roth IRA

I took Nathan and Ryan to our broker this morning to discuss Roth IRAs. Both boys have jobs and I thought it was time to have them begin thinking about their retirement. John and I decided to match any money they made this summer, dollar for dollar, and, well, my boys have never been known [...]

Money Reflections

Excerpted from Beyond the Piggy Bank, a 15-Day Challenge One of the goals for this Challenge is to develop healthy attitudes about money in our children. Since YOU have the greatest impact on what your kids learn about money, it’s important to take a little time to reflect honestly on the money messages you are [...]

Teaching Kids to Set Financial Goals

Long story short, kids who know how to delay gratification tend to grow up to be adults with higher paying jobs, have happier relationships, are physically healthy, and are persistent in their pursuits. Let me know if you want the details to this longitudinal research. Using money, we have an unbelievable way to help our [...]

Selling on Ebay, A Teenager’s Message

I asked my son, Ryan, to write about his experiences earning some additional money by selling things on ebay. Here is what he wrote, unedited by his mother! ~ Ebay can be a great tool to making money, anyone can do it, too. Kids, adults, it doesn’t matter! I’m Ryan, 15 years old, and I [...]

Teaching Money Values

We impart our values to our kids through our words and our actions. Mostly our actions. Take a moment to reflect on the things you value. Integrity, compassion, honesty, persistence, courage, patience… Now think about an action that can be associated with each one. For example, returning the unpaid can of tuna you discovered in [...]