As fundamental as money management is to personal success and confidence, it isn’t a required course in our schools. If you’d like to do your kids a great favor in life, talk to them about money, how to save it, budget it, and invest it. Even if they roll their eyes at first, they’ll thank you in the long run.
Here are free resources for improving children’s financial literacy:
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
The CFPB’s “Money As You Grow” website is a resource for parents and caregivers to see if their children are reaching age-appropriate money milestones. It includes activities and conversation starters to keep children on track from young children to young adults.
It helps parents discuss such topics as getting a pet, paying with a credit card, and moving to a new house. It also includes a Money as You Grow bookshelf to help parents incorporate money skills into the time spent reading to kids at home.
Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaire Club
Warren Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, speaker, and philanthropist who serves as the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the greatest investors of all time, whose net worth is over $80 billion.
The Secret Millionaires Club is an animated series featuring Warren Buffett as a mentor to a group of entrepreneurial kids whose adventures lead them to solve financial and business problems. The program teaches the basics of sound financial decisions and starting a business.
Tips for Teens
I’ll never forget the first time I learned about the Power of Compound Interest. I was 22 years old. A financial services salesperson used a compound interest chart to demonstrate how investing relatively small amounts of money every month starting at my age would result in a sizeable nest egg by the time I retired.
The chart further showed how waiting even ten years meant having to invest substantially more each month to accumulate the same amount. I immediately opened an account and began small monthly deposits. It is unequivocally one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.
The American Library Association endorses Northwestern Mutual’s Tips for Teens website, which introduces teens to earning, saving, spending, owing, tracking, giving, investing, and safeguarding money through short articles and online games.
Under the topic of Saving, the Compounding Calculator helps demonstrate the power of compound interest.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is an educational non-profit founded by Bangladeshi-American Sal Khan to provide an excellent education for free to anyone with an internet connection. Its online tools tutor students on standard school topics and life skills from Pre-K through college level.
Khan Academy has been in the news a lot lately since Elon Musk just donated 5 Million from his Musk Foundation. Past donors have included Google, AT&T, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Luis Alcazar Foundation of Mexico for the production of Spanish-language lessons.
Check out Khan Academy’s lessons on Personal Finance under the Life Skills category here. Topics range from Saving and Budgeting to Investments and Retirement to how to keep your financial information safe.
The Mr. Chow Podcast
Mr. Chow is a high school teacher/college professor who created his podcast in November 2020 as a platform to teach life skills and help students build character. On his YouTube channel, he includes ten lessons that provide an overview of Consumer Finance.
Topics range from How to Pay Bills and Taxes to How to Buy a Car to What You Need to Know About Student Loans. The lessons vary in length from 15 minutes to half an hour and include downloadable worksheets in the comments. Here is a sample lesson:
Teach Personal Finance to Your Kids
Few schools teach financial literacy. However, family is the first, most important influence on a child, so your good example can be the best teacher. If you’re not skilled yourself, it’s never too late to learn.
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