Saturday, December 27, 2008

Stop Your Kids From Overspending Now

By Alix Montoya

If you are a parent, then you know all about the horror stories about kids let loose inside a mall with a credit card. Although, this is probably a stupid idea, especially if your children are shop-a-holics, you still need to look out for those rare moments when they do set out on their own in the commercial jungle.

As a parent, there are a lot of things that we can do to avoid overspending on ourselves but there's only so much we can do to stop our kids. So here are a few tips that could help you get started on Finances 101 from parents to kids. Make sure they're all sitting down.

Get a job. Not for you, for your kids. If they're old enough, you might want to consider asking them to have a job. Teenagers are more likely to give more value to money especially if they worked hard for it. Working also teaches them diligence and discipline. But you have to make sure this doesn't mess around with their other responsibilities like chores or school.

Tell them to save up. That's right. Sit them down and talk to them about having bank account and all the jolly good things that come with it. Tell them all about interests and how this increases their savings. Or you could also try and get them to start a college fund for their future. It might surprise what they can do with it.

Another great idea is to teach them how to budget their cash. This is a great way to allocate portions of their allowance or earnings, if you've convinced them to have a job, for certain things that they might find necessary in everyday life. It also makes sure that they're always saving something after a regular period of time.

It's best to teach these things to our kids now, before they choke up our bank accounts with debt. Or you could just do away with their spending privileges, altogether. Whichever works. - 16928

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