“Be a Company Man”
There are two problems with this lesson.  First, there are no company “men”.  Just as many women are pulling down a fair wage in today’s economy, and the occasional guy who spouts this lesson may also still think “women shouldn’t be in the workplace”.  The second issue I have with this is becoming more obvious in this current economy.  Companies try to take care of workers, but they can only do so much.  Be a family man.  Be a man of truth.  Be a funny man.  But don’t ever base your identity solely on the corporation who signs your checks.

“Always Pay with Cash”
This can be a terrible piece of advice that assumes we live in a one-size-fits-all world.  It is also nearly impossible to abide by.  If you use water, gas, or electricity that costs more per month than the deposit you put down when you opened your account, you are using credit.  Unless you waltz in with a wad of cash and tell your utilities manager that you would like to only use the amount you prepay every month, you are “charging” your bill for a short time.

Most should avoid credit until they have developed the ability to use it responsibly.  But let’s call a spade a spade, shall we?  This adage should never be given to your kids without a lengthy lesson on credit.  It would be better if it were changed to “pay with cash if you aren’t good for your word of paying back the things you buy with credit.”  You may also add in “credit rocks if you are good with your budget and like earning perks for the shopping you do anyway.”

“Don’t Spend it All in One Place”
This is one that many of us still hear.  The thought behind it is that if you “blow” all your money on one purchase, you won’t have it for other things.  But don’t we already know that?  Similar to the “play the field” advice for relationships, it can discourage kids from setting, planning for, and committing to a financial goal so that they can one day buy a large purchase that would otherwise be unattainable.  So yes, “spend it all in one place” – if that’s what it takes to make that mega purchase of a home, car, or college tuition.

“Time is Money”
Yikes! To some extent this is a true statement.  If I burn minutes and hours waiting for a doctor that is late for my appointment, and I’m missing time in the office earning a paycheck, then time is money.  If I’m spending a day off from work (unpaid even) to visit my sick aunt in the hospital or to witness my daughter’s first volleyball tournament, then this is very simplistic thinking.

I can always earn more money.  I can never get the precious moments of life back.  Be sure that when teaching this to your kids, you are qualifying the value of time in units other than cash.  You only get one life, and you can take none of your belongings with you when you die. (Both are traditional lessons that parents should be passing on to their kids!)

~ LINSEY KNERL ~

In the wake of the financial crisis, “Sesame Street” is teaching children financial literacy. Ron Lieber talks to Elmo about saving and sharing.

The highlights at Kids Marketplace included the Kids Entrepreneurship contest, Cashflow 101 for Kids Challenge, workshops by Yuber and a green bazaar.

A total of 39 teams comprising 78  youngsters participated in the Kids Entrepreneurship contest for the chance to win holiday packages, Yuber scholarships and the grand prize of an Asus Notebook.

Participants  who were grouped under the junior (aged 8-12) and senior (aged 13-18) categories competed for the Best Display, Most Creative and the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur Awards.

The Most Promising Young Entrepreneur, in particular, were judged based on creativity and leadership skills, as well as the ability to make the most profit from an undertaking.

The overall grand prize winner was chosen from among the various Most Promising Young Entrepreneur category winners at the end of the contest.

The one who showed the most creativity and were the most innovative in their products was picked the winner.

Siblings James and Janice Chai, aged 14 and 12, respectively, sold a variety of eco-friendly recycled handicrafts  to take home the grand prize of an Asus laptop  for being the co-winners of the Most Enterprising Young Entrepreneur  award for their  conservation efforts.

Their mother Ivy Khoo said:  “We are happy and excited to participate in this  event as it is a fun way for our children to put their living skills to practice.”

Schoolmates Dylan Tan, 10, and Mohamed Yasin Azeez, 11, sold handmade bookmarks and parachute men.

Cousins Elizabeth Mahendra, 8, and Marie Lim, 12, offered a variety of bright, beaded jewellery that they had made themselves.

Best friends Ashley Chow and Nicholas Oon, both 16, sold cards of humour, brightening the day with their cheery greetings.

Patrick Wee, managing director of Group MAD, which Yuber is a part of, said: “Our Yuber team is  thrilled to co-organise this event with HSC, as we believe that our youths need a safe and guided environment to develop their entrepreneurship skills and learn how to take calculated risks in life.

“We hope  this exercise allowed our young ones  to express their creativity and develop important life skills that will help them grow into well-rounded individuals.

“As a youth training provider, we at Yuber  aim to equip youths with soft and leadership skills.

“The curriculum of our youth camps and workshops,  are developed by youth training provider Seeds Training.

It has been designed to produce long-lasting and proven results that equip students with skills  for the increasingly competitive and ever-changing global environment,” said  Wee.

Another highlight was the Cashflow 101 for Kids Challenge that is based on Robert Kiyosaki’s educational board game.

The challenge is designed to teach investment concepts to children in a risk-free environment.

Altogether, 24 children between the ages of  9 and 12 participated in the challenge.

One of the youngest participants Chegne Eu Jinn, 9, was declared the winner.

He won an Asus laptop, a four day, three-night stay in Bali or Phuket, and a half-scholarship from Yuber to attend the upcoming Green Star learning workshop next month.

Creative workshops such as the Free Cap Make Over and Sneaker Facelift workshops were a big hit at the Kids Marketplace. The children were given a plain cap or sneaker that they could then draw and paint on, however they liked.

Illustrator and designer Kenzy Chew helped the children in creating their own masterpieces.

The free workshops kept the youngsters entertained as they drew and painted to their hearts’ content.

Children and their parents also participated in the Yuber Learning Fun Games facilitated by YUBER.

In the games they had the chance to take home some fun, educational prizes.

Here are some golden rules about money to pass along to your children.

1. A penny saved is a penny earned.

Parents can start teaching kids about earning money as early as elementary school, Silverman says. Set a weekly or monthly allowance for chores done around the house, and offer extra for helping neighbors and performing other tasks. “Allowance should not be seen as an entitlement; it should teach responsibility,” Silverman says.

Then show your kids how to split their earnings into four money jars: for saving, spending, giving, and taxes. While younger children may not necessarily owe Uncle Sam a portion of their earnings, an awareness of taxes can be useful. “As they get older and get into the workforce, they’ll find that what they earn and take home are two different things,” she says of the importance of setting aside tax funds.

2. Stick to the budget.

Show your kids your monthly bills such as car payments, mortgage, and utilities, says Robert Wasilewski, a financial advisor at Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors in Columbia, Md. This will not only teach them about your family’s cost of living, but also get them involved in the process. “Teaching people about money is a lot like poker,” he says. “No one will play until their money is in the pot.”

Make a list of wants vs. needs with your kids. When it comes to spending, parents need to ask why their kid needs something—or if they just want it, Silverman says. “It’s a conversation about values,” Silverman explains. Granted, this list will change as teenagers start driving and working part-time, and have busier social lives. They need to learn how to budget their monthly earnings to cover expenses.

3. Learn the power of interest.

Take your child to a bank and open an account that earns interest. Let the child decide how much to put in and let him or her calculate the interest the account is earning over time, Wasilewski says.

Or, rather than hand kids cash to spend each week, parents can put a set amount in the bank account. In a survey done in January, 2007, PNC found that 63% of parents set up a banking or investment account, but only about 21% of teens put money into the account or make investments.

When it comes to investing, children should learn how owning a diverse number of stocks and funds can grow in value over a span of many years. Massimo says his wealthy clients set up investment clubs—and let their kids pick three or four friends to join—to teach them investing basics. Wasilewski thinks that some of the online stock market games teach young people that stocks are a short-term holding and tend to go up, rather than the important lesson that stocks should be owned for the long run and can easily decline.

To learn about the economy and personal finance matters, Wasilewski recommends the Federal Reserve’s Web site, which also features a Kids Page.

4. Stay out of debt.

Credit card offers with your child’s name arrive in the mail sometimes as early as high school. Show your kids your credit card bills and how to pay them off on time to demonstrate how the cost of an item goes up because of the interest charged. And teach children how the bad habit of paying late can put you in a deep financial hole.

At the same time, it’s important to establish a good credit history, because there will likely be a time when your kids are going to need to borrow money. “The big problem is, young people don’t really understand how to get interest to work for them,” Wasilewski says.

5. Giving back is the best gift.

Donating to charities, including volunteering in your community, is “a really important value for children to learn,” Silverman at PNC says. At a young age, your kids can donate clothes and toys that are usually collected by organizations around the holidays. According to the recent PNC survey, 40% of parents said they encourage kids to participate in community events. Many high net worth families set up foundations and let their children pick the socially responsible causes they want to get involved with, Massimo says. “They want to teach the value of giving time, but also giving money responsibly,” Silverman says.

Another way to give back, Massimo says, is teaching kids how to invest in socially responsible stocks—usually companies that are environmentally friendly and don’t make alcohol, tobacco, and firearms—or funds that emphasize those kinds of stocks. Whether it’s getting, spending, or giving, teaching your children some sound financial principles now should help them to make smarter choices about their money as they grow older.

Since logging onto the Website 10 months ago, he’s decided to save his allowance to the tune of $500, an absolute triumph if you ask his mom, Debra.

“Evan couldn’t hold on to money,” she says. “If he got a dollar or if he got birthday money he’d spend it immediately on really silly things…now, he’s running home from school and jumping on the computer to check his balance.”

When it’s time for his $10 per-week allowance, Evan receives an IOU from his parents, which is deposited into his virtual account on the Web site. His account also earns a small amount of interest. The site charges $30 a year after a free, two-week trial, but his mom says it’s worth every penny because it’s helping her son to prioritize and set financial goals, something she never thought possible at his age.

Online kid-friendly money management tools like ThreeJars, Zefty and FamilyMint show that financial literacy can start at home, perhaps more easily than ever before. While it’s important for parents to talk to their children about the importance of saving, these Web sites demonstrate that it can be equally — if not, more — effective to show them and have kids take the driver’s seat. Cool graphics and animations help, too. Evan says he likes the fact that ThreeJars looks and feels like a video game.

But while he loves technology, Evan’s apparently turned into an even bigger fan of saving. He initially set out to save for an iPad, but is now having second thoughts, with bigger goals in mind. “I could save it for college,” he says.

And something tells me, he will.

Best Ideas for Kids to Earn Money

Pet Sitting
One of the easy ways for kids to make money fast is through pet sitting. This is a fun way of earning money if your kids love to spend time with pets, which usually many kids do. You can ask your neighbors, if they have pets or someone nearby looking for such services and let your kids get started.

Baby Sitting
If your child enjoys playing with younger kids, baby sitting is a great idea. This is definitely amongst the best ways for kids to make money fast. With some toys, story books, kids DVDs, this can be a good opportunity of making money for them.

Online Selling
If your kid is an artist, don’t waste his/her skills and keep them restricted to arts and crafts assignments in the school. Get some plain T-shirts, paint colors and other painting tools. Let your kids show their skills on this canvas. What next, sell off this stuff and let your kids make money for themselves. What’s more, such stuff can also be sold on ebay or other internet shopping websites. Isn’t it amongst the most creative ways to make money for kids? They can try many such hobbies that make money.

Writing
Just search and you can find a lot of freelancing jobs out there, seeking writers. If your kid is a good writer and has interest in writing, this is amongst the best ways for kids to make money fast online. If they are unable to get any such job due to their age or any other reasons, they can consider blogging, which is also a great way of making money online.

Help the Elderly
There are many families looking for someone to take care of their grand parents. Kids with some know-how can do the job of taking care of the individual(s) from a family in a nice way. Also, the income from such easy ways to make money for kids can be quite satisfactory.

Sell Toys
Well, children love toys, so the idea of selling them off might seem to be odd. But if your child is mature enough to understand that these toys won’t be used by him/her anymore and will go to waste if kept as it is, they can earn handsomely. All you need to do is set up a stall consisting of old and new toys and sell them. This is surely the best money making ideas. Stationery items and books can also be added to this. You can simply set the stall in your yard and let your kids earn money. Well, don’t forget to ensure that all items to be sold are in good condition.

With these ways for kids to make money fast, your kids will not only earn some extra pocket change but also gain confidence and a sense of responsibility. Let your kids explore their independence and learn a lot with these money earning ideas.

Once they hit 16, they should get a job. But it can start earlier than that if you want it to. They can mow lawns, shovel sidewalks, or babysit. Working hard and making money will teach them the value of a dollar. Once they start making money they will probably want to spend quickly too. Teaching teens to save money may be difficult at first, but you need to do it.

Teaching teens to save money is important for their future. They need to know why they should save and how to do it. You may need to learn yourself so you can teach your teens to save money, but it will be a valuable lesson for you as well. The first thing you need to do is take them to the bank and set up a savings account for them.

Once you do this you need to set them up on a budget. Teaching teens to save money through a budget is one way to make this happen. You need to gather all their bills and their pay checks. Their checks will be different since they are probably not guaranteed the same number of hours each week.

You need to teach your teens the reasons why they need to save money. These reasons can include saving for a car, a special date, new clothes, or college. Teens want expensive things and when it gets to a point where they have their own money, you should consider making them pay for most of those things.

Teaching teens to save money can be a very difficult thing to do. You need to stand your ground when they try to tell you they have no need to save money. It may be hard for you, but you can do it and you will thank yourself for it in the future.

Your teen will thank you when they have a major repair that is needed on their car, or if they have to buy tires for it, or they find a new pair of shoes they “must” have. They will also be thankful when they are grown, married, and have their own kids and need money to buy their first house.

There are many reasons why teaching teens to save money is so important. Showing them how to save money will not only help them now, but in the future as well. They will be so happy you taught them these things later in life when they have a family and retirement to think about.

My husband looked at me. “Only $250” for a high chair? A few days earlier, we’d talked about a budget of $60 for this purchase. My enthusiasm for the pricier model epitomized a recent trend in my shopping habits: When it comes to my baby, no price tag is too high. I want to get her the best, from teethers designed in Germany to Baby Bjorn potty training stools.

The fact that she goes to daycare helps fuel the flames of my spending sprees. I might not be able to spend all day with her, but I will buy her whatever she wants! $80 Jumperoo? Done. Organic, pureed baby food? Absolutely. And if she might sleep better with the $50 mobile, add that to my diapers.com order, too.

In my former, pre-motherhood life, I was frugal. I brought my lunch to work, rarely bought coffee, and owned few nice clothes. I liked saving money. But as soon as I entered into this new realm of mommyhood, a flip in my brain seems to have been switched. I don’t think I’m the only one – my mom friends report similar expenditure hikes and the dozens of shopping websites and blogs aimed at moms seem to underscore our personal experiences.

The money comparison website www.Bundle.com confirms that parents spend more across almost every category of spending: groceries, shopping, health, travel, and transportation. Overall, married adults with kids spend $46,160 a year on average (excluding mortgage and rent payments), while married adults without kids spend an average of $40,304.

But there are some exceptions to that rule. Bundle.com reports that young parents save money on restaurant meals. It certainly has worked out that way for my husband and me. We barely leave the house after 8pm anymore, much less dine anywhere fancy. We’ve also severely cut back on other types of fun, such as international trips and weekend getaways.

Those trade-offs mean parents can enjoy some respite from the endless expenditures on toys and diapers, even if it comes at the expense of their own enjoyment. As my husband put it, “The baby budget has taken over the travel budget.” (And don’t worry, fellow new parents, the restaurant ban doesn’t last forever. Bundle.com reports that after age 36, parents start eating out again – but it costs more, probably because they bring their kids with them.)

For now, I don’t think our savings on restaurants and travel quite make up for the vast amounts of cash that are going toward baby food, diapers, clothes, toys, and other gear. But I have learned to reign in my own spending, at least a little bit. Reviewing my credit card statements made me realize that cutting back on new baby items could mean more money for my daughter’s college savings account.

So now, each time I’m thinking about purchasing a new summer outfit, or colorful toy, I ask myself: Should this money go towards future college tuition instead? Framing the question like that makes me more likely to hold off.

Do you have any baby budgeting suggestions? Please share them below.

There are several money gurus for adults (Robert Kiyosaki – “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” David Ramsey – “Total Money Makeover”, David Bach – “Automatic Millionaire,” to name a few). Of course, most parents with young children who are learning from these gurus eventually get around to wanting to impart this new-found wisdom to their children while they’re still young.

Also, there’s the huge number of conscientious parents who are in debt and who are on a path of getting rid of their debt. And then, there’s the self-aware parents who have become introduced to, and may be continuing on the path of, replacing a poverty-focused mentality with an abundance mentality (e.g. The Secret, Law of Attraction, and various faith-based and secular abundance teachings).

Of course, America is very well-poised to finally leave the poverty mentality of The Great Depression, as the third or fourth generation is being born now. Finally, Americans are extricating themselves, bit by bit, piece by piece, of the deeply embedded beliefs and language of The Great Depression, which are negative and counter-productive to building financial wealth.

Maybe you read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” and a light bulb went off about how you look at money, and now you are at a loss of how to teach your children about money. Maybe you don’t yet know how money works or what ROI means, and don’t have the time to go through a long learning curve, but want to capture the opportunity to teach your kids about money now while they’re young.

Here are 7 key points that you must know when teaching your kids about money:

1. Financial Wealth is created when your money makes money (rather than you making money).

2. ROI means Return On Investment. It is your Return On Investment – that is, the money that your invested money makes for you – that defines your wealth (rather than your earnings or your capital gains).

3. Thinking that you’ll get out of debt and become wealthy when you work harder, get a raise, make more money, have greater commissions, or make some landmark profits in your stock trading account, are just lies that the 20st Century American society has created. Wealthy parents know differently. Wealth is created by ROI, which comes from having your money make more money for you.

4. Giving is part of gaining. When you have Returns On Investments, it’s important to keep the flow of money circulating – by more investments, more spending and more donating (charitable giving).

5. Good children’s banks have 4 parts – Investing, Donating, Spending, Long-term Savings (to buy Christmas/holiday gifts, birthday gifts, Father’s/Mother’s Day gifts, etc.), and properly take care of money (rather than scrunching up bills and jamming them into a tiny slot). Why 4 parts and not 3? Try dividing up Grandma’s $20 bill birthday gift to little boy by 3.

6. Allowance only works if you have a complete plan to teach wealth habits to your children. Allowance alone, without more, won’t do it. Allowance and chores are a dangerous combination. Gratitude in children doesn’t depend on whether kids have to do chores in order to get an allowance – it depends on a lot of important things, but not that.

7. Children actually ignore you when you start talking to them about money. Children learn by doing. Children get strong wealth habits by doing the same thing over and over and over – in an interesting and creative way.

If your family’s plan for teaching your children about money is lacking in any of these 7 areas, fear not. There are lots of resources on the web and in bookstores to help you get your children on a good financial wealth path.

Find the one that works for you, with your style and where you’re at in life. Now you’re armed with these 7 essential points to evaluate which tools will be best for you to teach wealth habits to your children, even if you’re not (yet) wealthy.

I think this is the best of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series, and clearly deserves more than five stars.

Think of this book as the instructor’s guide to teaching Rich Dad, Poor Dad combined with a basic guide to helping young people identify their strengths and learning styles. The book also provides a sound foundation for helping young people build their self-confidence in a healthy way.

Unlike the other books in the series, this one draws on the positive lessons of both Mr. Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad and his Poor Dad rather than just the Rich Dad. To overcome Mr. Kiyosaki’s lack of experience as a parent (he has no children), the book relies on important academic and professional research to add context for Mr. Kiyosaki’s observations about his own childhood.

The book begins by citing a recent HEW study that showed that 56 out of 100 people who are 65 need either government or family financial assistance to make ends meet. The book is aimed at providing children with the learning experiences to allow them to avoid that dismal financial result.

Then the perspective shifts to pointing out that the change from an industrial to an information economy has shifted the rules of success in our society. The old rules were to get a good education, get a good job, and have financial security from one employer. The new rules are quite different and feature being in an environment in which one will be a free agent, work in a virtual company, get paid for results, work in many professions, retire early, work only when you are interested in working, learn in seminars rather than classes, focus on your core talents, emphasize developing and implementing new ideas, self-direct your own investments for retirement, and work at home rather than in an office.

To succeed, your child will need at least three basic strategies: one for lifelong learning, one for developing a career, and one for creating financial success.

The book points out that most people will have to relearn the most important areas they work in about every 2-4 years, shift professions as they reach the age at which they become obsolete, and make their money work hard for them.

In the second part of the book, you will learn many basic ways to help your child learn these lessons. He points out the work of Howard Gardner in emphasizing that each of us has different dimensions to the ways our intelligence expresses itself. Find out what your child’s is, praise that, and provide your guiding experiences in terms of that way of learning. In almost all cases, children like to learn through play, playing in the ways they like to play and focusing on subjects that interest them.

In Mr. Kiyosaki’s case, he likes things to be kinesthetic ( touching things and experiencing emotions about them), and he wants to experience them as directly as possible. His Rich Dad appreciated this and put him into situations where his learning style would work. This was the basis of the famous job in the grocery store for ten cents an hour, where he then paid the ten cents an hour to have the privilege of learning. After a while he realized the opportunity to rent and sell the returned comic books for a profit. This allowed him to understand that money is about ideas.

The book then builds up the game of Monopoly as a teaching tool. Through playing the game, Mr. Kiyosaki learned that he needed to buy real estate and develop it to generate an income from investments. His Rich Dad took him along to buy a house that he later rented so he could see what was involved. Then, Mr. Kiyosaki “got it” and was able to follow that lesson to become a millionaire real estate investor on his own.

The appendix by Ms. Lechter has some very good scripts that you can use for taking your children through financial field trips to bring home the message.

The book also offers lots of good advice for supporting your children while they may be having trouble in school. This includes a suggestion for a test they can take to determine their learning style (the Kolbe index). You are also encouraged to find a school that emphasizes the style of learning that your child uses.

On the financial side, the key concepts of Cash Flow Quadrant are greatly simplified so that they can be applied for your child. The book has many exercises you can use to give your child experience in managing her or his money. One of my favorite stories is about a boy who wanted to buy some expensive golf clubs. Be sure to read that one.

Help your child obtain the spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional experiences to prosper in the new world of opportunities!