If you are a parent and if you have bad experiences with debt, then it’s time you tell your children about it; that is, if they are old enough to understand. They need to know the disadvantages of acquiring debt. They might be still young, but they have to understand how debt can make their lives rough. Times are hard. They need to be steered away from financial ruin as early as possible.
You know how difficult it is to owe money to people, to be in deep financial distress, to live from paycheck to paycheck. You don’t want your kids to go through the same agony when they become adults, do you? Studies show that the new generation are starting to use and rely on credit cards at a young age. Credit card spending and borrowing money as a way of life are bad habits that need to stop. Educate your children about this. You, as the parent, are responsible for telling and teaching your children about handling finances better and more wisely. Here are some helpful tips for showing your children how to be fiscally responsible.
Saving is Fun
Make saving fun to children so that they will develop the habit at an early age. You can do this by making “saving” a project, like giving your child an attractive piggy bank. You can start with small things until it becomes a habit, a practice, until the children themselves initiate the savings. Giving rewards might also help, so that they will realize that there’s something they can get out of saving.
Don’t Give Your Teenage Child a Credit Card
This is one mistake that many parents commit. They give their teenage children credit cards for emergency purposes. This is highly dangerous, as this gives the child the impression that spending is as easy as swiping the card, that you can buy what you want merely by swiping, without even having to carry cash with you. Please, don’t do this to your children. You are teaching your children to develop a habit of mindless spending if you give them credit card.
You may not be in control of the lives of your children when they become adults. You can’t dictate them to do this and that when they already have lives of their own. However, you can make them understand as early as possible. What you can do is educate them about the downsides of mindless spending and credit card borrowing. Make them picture the hardships they might go through if they are not too careful about their financial decisions, and they’ll have much happier lives as adults.