The author (center) wants her kids to know that the comfortable life they live isn't about luck, it has taken careful planning on their parents' part.
Courtesy of Stefanie Ricchio.
Somewhere between "when you have a job, you can buy whatever you want" and "you'll never have to worry about money" are the money lessons every child needs to hear to build their own money skills.As a certified public accountant, I've spent a career watching the end results of money silence. Every newly married, single, or widowed person who sits across from me, often middle-aged, is learning about debt, investing, wage negotiation, and taxes (of course, taxes) seemingly for the first time. It never ceases to blow me away.I decided early on that my kids, now 17 and 18, would never be those adults.Make their money make moneyIn my home, everything and everyone gets put to work, including any money in the bank.My oldest started working at 14. As I watched her nest egg begin to accumulate, I knew I needed to find ways to invest the idle cash and grow it. Since she had no daily need for this cash, it made sense to ensure it would grow.When I made a big move for her, she was skeptical about why I was "taking" her money. To explain, I did a simple illustration of the impact of compounding interest and high-yield savings account options. At 14, she had enough basic math knowledge to see the logic in the move. I made sure to follow up with semi-annual check-ins so she could see for herself how the compounding was at work. It wasn't any sort of magic her CPA mom was pulling off, it was knowing where to keep your money.When my son began working, the same conversation inevitably followed, and now they both understand the benefits of compounding and determining between cash to be held for regular use and savings that should be put to work.
