The 15 Money Rules Kids Should Learn

WSJ ^ | 03-28-10 | JEFF D. OPDYKE

Posted on Friday, April 02, 2010 8:31:14 AM by ATX 1985

It's a simple calculus, kids and money: From birth until college graduation, children consume dollars like they're chicken nuggets.

For those of us who aren't independently wealthy, that puts unrelenting pressure on the family pocketbook. The financial demands of raising a child require that money you otherwise might use to prepare for retirement, or to save for a nicer house, a sportier car or a swankier vacation, must, out of necessity, be earmarked for Lego sets and pediatrician visits and school uniforms and Christmas toys and a college savings account and a minivan and a trip to Disneyland ... and lots of, well, chicken nuggets.

I'm not saying this to disparage kids. I have two of my own, and money is nothing in comparison to the happiness they bring me and my wife. Yet happiness does not negate the fact that the moment a child arrives -- and, actually, months before the arrival -- your role as an adult changes in dramatic, profound ways.

And so, too, does your family's financial life.

Not only are you now on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in costs over the next two decades, you also have a new obligation to teach your children about money so that they grow into adults who are at home in the financial world and who have a healthy relationship with money. You, the parent, are the first and most crucial link in that learning process.

Read More:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126973100584968825.html

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: children; kids; money; moneymanagement

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1 posted on Friday, April 02, 2010 8:31:15 AM by ATX 1985
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To: ATX 1985

Teach our kids something Congress hasn’t learned?

2 posted on Friday, April 02, 2010 8:34:51 AM by Tzimisce (No thanks. We have enough government already. - The Tick)
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To: ATX 1985

bump

3 posted on Friday, April 02, 2010 8:37:20 AM by dalebert
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To: ATX 1985
The 15 Money Rules Kids Should Learn

One rule would change the USA as we know it.

EARN IT!
4 posted on Friday, April 02, 2010 8:37:23 AM by EGPWS (Trust in God, question everyone else)
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To: ATX 1985

I drive past “gun free/drug free” school zones.

Back in the day, we had to PAY for our guns and drugs.
Nothing was free. Taught us the value of a dollar.

Kids today.

5 posted on Friday, April 02, 2010 8:38:01 AM by humblegunner
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To: ATX 1985

Also:

A liberal’s compassion is limited only by the size of someone else’s wallet.

Those who rob Peter to pay Paul will always have the support of Paul.

6 posted on Friday, April 02, 2010 8:42:39 AM by Drango (A liberal's compassion is limited only by the size of someone else's wallet.)
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To: humblegunner
"Back in the day, we had to PAY for our guns and drugs. Nothing was free. Taught us the value of a dollar.

OMG That is dang funny.
7 posted on Friday, April 02, 2010 8:46:04 AM by buschbaby (Beware! I'm one of those scary stay-at-home mom Tea Partiers. I'm threatening to clean up your mess)
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To: EGPWS

My favorite rules are #2 (allowance) and #9, children should be allowed to screw up so that they can learn from their mistakes. So many parents coddle their children and are afraid to hurt their feelings. But kids need to be embarrassed when they make mistakes and they need to fear the possibility of being a loser. One of the problems my parents made when I was growing up is that they grilled into my head ‘how smart I was.’ Well, all of that assurance doesn’t make a dimes worth a difference when you have a calculus test that you are unprepared for!

8 posted on Friday, April 02, 2010 8:51:56 AM by ATX 1985 (Time is Breath, Breath is Light, Light is Life)