It sounds like most posters believe that providing basic financial education to kids is a waste of time and money. Maybe it’s no different than sex ed or phys ed. You can arm a kid with information, but if values and family experience lead them down a different path, the knowledge may not matter.
As a teenager, I knew that my parents were not financial wizards but I didnt realize that I had the POWER to do things differently. I had no clue what compound interest was, how to save, or how to manage a checking account.
My parents rarely discussed money, and when they did it was tense and my mom usually got angry/upset. For a long time, talking about money put my stomach in knots.
I still have some residual trepidations and fears about money and talk to other women all the time who do, too. Two years ago, I heard a fascinating lecture by Barbara Stanny. Her father was the ‘Block’ in H&R Block. He always told her she didnt have to understand money – that her husband would handle that.
Well, she let her husband manage her huge trust fund and I think he gambled it away. When she went to Daddy for help he said, “sorry kid, figure it out yourself.”
Stanny got a job as a reporter. At one point, she interviewed successful women to find out what made them successful and realized that they all understood and respected money. This led to her career as a successful author of books about women and money. I think there is an entire industry built around helping women overcome fears about money.
Who knows…maybe the current financial crisis will be a hard lesson for the next generation. Many parents are more progressive about discussing finances with their kids and there is also so much info that simply did not exist when we 40+ somethings were kids. There was no Suze Orman, MSNBC, internet, etc. There is also less stigma about discussing money.
Kudos to all of you posters out there who help your kids understand finances. And, TG, your kids sound amazing.
