National Credit Union Youth Month ™

Teach Your Little Owls to Fly with Money Talks

The first step to teaching your kids about money is talking about money.

“The most effective way to teach is by having frequent discussions and don’t ever
lecture,” said Ted Beck, president and chief executive of the National Endowment
for Financial Education, in a recent Wall Street Journal article. “Look for teachable
moments and always be willing to answer questions.”
Unfortunately, this can be the hardest.

A 2015 T. Rowe Price survey found that 72% of parents experienced at least some reluctance to talk to their kids about financial matters, and 18% were either
very or extremely reluctant. The most common reasons given were that parents
didn’t want them to worry about financial matters or thought they were too young
to understand.

But on his blog, the personal-finance guru and radio host Dave Ramsey
encourages parents to be more open with their kids about money, even their
failures. Parents’ biggest regrets are often not saving enough or going into too
much debt, wrote Ramsey. Being honest about that in an age-appropriate way, he
stated, can be a powerful lesson.

So how to start the talk?

• Ask questions. If you're going out to eat, talk about the price difference between the options and ask them which they would choose. If they select more expensive, talk through what you might have to give up later in the week.
• Make them part of your budgeting. If you're doing any kind of financial planning for the year, solicit input from your kids, so they're accountability partners! If you're uncomfortable revealing too much of your financial picture, you can keep the discussions high level, but involving them makes money less abstract.

Open a youth savings account at Harvester Credit Union today and help your child lay the building blocks to their financial success. This will be the perfect start to help them save for what matters most. Begin cultivating lifelong savings habits for your child with Harvester today!