DAY BY DAY

OC's best family calendar

October 2008 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

KID

QUIPS

During last July’s 5.8 earthquake, 3-year-old Bronwyn told her 1-year-old sister, “We’re going for a wiggle.” READ MORE

SUBMIT YOUR QUIP

Family News

Kids & money Developing true financial skills in children requires parents to build a strong foundation that includes how to successfully manage their money By OC FamilyPublished: February, 2008

Print This Article Email This Article RSS Subscribe Digg This Article

Teaching kids about money sounds easy and straightforward: Get a piggy bank, start an allowance and put earned coins in the bank. For some parents, that’s the extent of hands-on money education. But, in reality, developing true financial skills in children requires parents to build a strong foundation that includes how to successfully manage their money. While this may sound like a lofty idea for young kids, there are creative, yet simple, ways parents can help their children understand the important choices to be made with money. To begin, parents should discuss the basic ideas of spending, saving and, yes, even investing and donating. Knowing that these choices exist is one of the first steps to learn how to balance the ways we use money. To get your family on track, consider these fun and practical ways to illustrate the basics of money management in your day-to-day activities: >> When you save, money grows >> When you save, coins grow into dollars >> Savings, plus interest, equals even more money >> Begin a matching 401(kids) program >> Help your child plan >> Keep your eyes on the goals   >> Start a 4-bank system. Consider taking the learning experience to the next level by expanding to a 4-bank model, which includes: [1.] A spending bank for money to be used soon [2.] A savings bank for money to be used later [3.] An investing bank for money that will grow on its own [4.] A bank for donating money to help others Developing good financial habits in your youngsters is one of the greatest gifts you can give them. Paul Castillo is a financial representative with the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network based in Newport Beach for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Milwaukee, Wis. Information: 949.863.5812 or paul.castillo@nmfn.com. Or access his website: nmfn.com/paulcastillo.

SEARCH THE SITE