How to Educate Your Kids on Proper Money Management

January 19, 2014

When it comes to money, kids today are presented with a world of choices that most of us parents didn’t have to worry about when we were young. You certainly didn’t have to think about the latest iPod or iPad, $100 tennis shoes, or any other purchases of that magnitude. Depending on your age, credit and debit cards may not even have been around when you were younger – if you grew up when I did, you either had money or you didn’t. Continue reading “How to Educate Your Kids on Proper Money Management”

What Bothers Me Most About a New School Year

September 25, 2013

Well, if you have kids like mine — one in high school, one in middle school, and two in elementary school — then you’re probably in the throes of packed lunches, school buses, band practice, homework, driving kids to and from student activities, PTO meetings, and a host of other September rituals.  Many of these don’t bother me, and some are welcomed reminders of why I’m glad I’m not in school anymore. But there are several rituals that always come along this time of year that always get under my skin: clothes shopping, school supply shopping and fund raising events. Continue reading “What Bothers Me Most About a New School Year”

Teaching a Work Ethic to an iPod Generation

June 19, 2013

I’ve lived in my current home for six years. From the day we moved in, the water dispenser built in to the refrigerator door has not worked very well—the water just kind of trickles out—so unless you like standing in front of the refrigerator for two minutes waiting for a glass of water, it doesn’t get used. On top of that, the ice maker recently stopped making ice. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.  I went online and looked into the problem to see if it would be an easy fix. Continue reading “Teaching a Work Ethic to an iPod Generation”

Even a 14-Year Old Can Understand Dollars and Sense

May 29, 2013

This week’s blog post comes from a very special author: my 14-year old daughter.  As a parent, you always wonder if your children are listening and as my pediatrician would always reassure my wife and I, they hear us just fine.  Proof of this can sometimes come in the most unexpected of ways.  Continue reading “Even a 14-Year Old Can Understand Dollars and Sense”

The Top 5 Things to Teach Kids About Money

May 27, 2013

Happy Memorial Day! If you have young kids, this unofficial start of summer is a great opportunity to start thinking about how you can use some of their time away from school for another form of education: how to make smart financial decisions that can benefit them for the rest of their lives. After all,  the first money lessons your child gets will likely come from you and can have a major impact on their ability to avoid major financial problems later in life. In particular, these five basic concepts should be incorporated into your child’s education about responsible money management: Continue reading “The Top 5 Things to Teach Kids About Money”

A Major Decision

May 24, 2013

It seems that lately my personal life has been dominated by questions about “next year,” “next phase of life,” “what do you plan to do after….”  Actually, not so much my life, but my kids. All 3 are in the last year of their respective schools right now. Continue reading “A Major Decision”

Get Them In Before They Age Them Out

September 12, 2012

Last week we took our daughter, Rachel, to the dentist for her bi-annual cleaning. Originally, she was scheduled to go in last April, but Rachel had a conflict with a soccer game so her mom decided to cancel it. Rachel’s name was added to the cancellation list, and for the last five months, the dentist’s office has been calling whenever there has been a cancellation to try and get her in. Normally, we would try to get Rachel in as soon as possible, but each time they called to schedule the appointment they would give us a time during school hours, and Susan and I saw no reason to remove her from class just to have her teeth cleaned. Continue reading “Get Them In Before They Age Them Out”

Financial Lessons From a Six Year Old

August 15, 2012

Today’s blog post is the last in a series of posts sharing the results of interviews I’ve conducted with my four children on the topic of money.  As you may recall, my oldest, Rachel (14), is a saver, and looks at money as something to be used for necessities.  David (12) is my value hunter, and prefers to buy things that have a lasting quality.  Ethan (9) is more of a spender, willing to use any money he has to buy things he wants right now.  Bringing up the rear is Jacob. Continue reading “Financial Lessons From a Six Year Old”

A 9 Year Old’s Perspective on Money

August 08, 2012

So far I’ve learned a lot about my two oldest children in the last couple of weeks.  I’ve learned that Rachel is a spendthrift and sees money as a means to necessities.  David, on the other hand, is a value hunter and wants to know that whatever he spends his money on is going to last. Continue reading “A 9 Year Old’s Perspective on Money”

A Twelve Year Old’s Perspective on Money

August 01, 2012

Last week, I wrote about how we as parents can learn about our own financial behaviors by observing our children.  To demonstrate this, I asked my daughter Rachel a series of questions to help me gauge where she is and what she has learned about finances, presumably from her mother and I. Continue reading “A Twelve Year Old’s Perspective on Money”

What Our Children Can Teach Us About Ourselves

July 25, 2012

As the father of four, I’m often asked about how to teach children about money.  I’m sure there are a lot of books and blogs about the subject, but for me, I look at children as just people – only smaller and with less life experience.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that each child, like each of us, is unique, and therefore the way we teach them about money should be just as unique as they are.  Continue reading “What Our Children Can Teach Us About Ourselves”

Boomerang Kids: How to Avoid Getting Financially Whacked When Your Adult Child Returns Home

June 20, 2012

It’s been said that a parent’s greatest gifts to a child are roots and wings. But what happens when a child must return to his roots because he cannot fly? This is the situation faced by many parents today: their adult children are moving back home, unable to find jobs or to afford life on their own. Continue reading “Boomerang Kids: How to Avoid Getting Financially Whacked When Your Adult Child Returns Home”

Fishing, and Other (Almost) Free Activities for Kids

May 09, 2012

One of the things I enjoy most about this time of year is the chance to take my boys (and daughter, when she’s up to it) fishing at the local pond. What I love about fishing is being outside, away from the video games and television, listening to the birds chirp, the “ker-plunk” of the fishing lure when it hits the water, and the occasional “I got a fish!” when we actually manage to hook one. Truthfully, we can spend hours casting and reeling, but perhaps the best part is that, with the exception of the original purchase of the equipment, fishing costs next to nothing. Now that summer break is right around the corner, I thought it would be a good idea to prepare a list of other (almost) free activities for the kids: Continue reading “Fishing, and Other (Almost) Free Activities for Kids”