Ever since my kids were little, they divided their money into envelopes-spending, long-term savings, dowry and giving. Recently, we encouraged them to give their money on a weekly basis, instead of when they had a significant amount to give. We want this to be a weekly habit. The kids have savings accounts for larger items. These are things like a car or even a digital camera, etc. The dowry amount is savings for their future family. We are opening mutual funds for these savings.
Personally, I don't have a problem with teaching my kids to be consumers. They will all be consumers on their own some day and should be trained at home how to be a good consumer. If my kids make a foolish decision with their money, I’d rather it be a training situation at home with a small amount of money than wait to make those foolish decisions on large purchases in the future.
One thing that has helped us is that each of our kids have their own business. All of my kids have written books that we sell and my daughters produce some of our cds. My son sells marshmallow guns and potato cannon kits. You can even see what he sells on our website HERE
He must pay us for materials and overhead. He is learning the value of money in a real life way, making wise buying decisions to keep the costs low and the fact that there are other expenses besides materials in having a business.
Some good living books to encourage entrepreneurialism and business sense in our kids are below. Click the title to read more about each book.
Better Than A Lemonade Stand
Henry Reed, Inc
Toothpaste Millionaire
Merchant Maiden
Kerry
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