Great Summary of Issues in Financial Literacy Education

One of the best articles written about the challenges we face in training people to be competent in money matters.

I have believed for a long time that financial literacy education's failure to date is not about the content, as there has been enough written, produced and printed about the in's and out's of the world of money. But instead, it is an issue of delivering the training information to the right person at the right time in a form that will be most effective for them. Not such an easy task.

The article, by Tom Hanza, the President of the Investor Education Fund, needs to be read by all people interested in and working on the education of kids, young adults and seniors in money matters.

A Brilliant Poem

Smart: By Shel Silverstein

My dad gave me one dollar bill

‘Cause I’m his smartest son,

And I swapped it for two shiny quarters

‘Cause two is more than one!

And then I took the quarters

And traded them to Lou

For three dimes — I guess he don’t know

That three is more than two!

Just then, along came old blind Bates

And just ’cause he can’t see

He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,

And four is more than three!

And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs

Down at the seed-feed store,

And the fool gave me five pennies for them,

And five is more than four!

And then I went and showed my dad,

And he got red in the cheeks

And closed his eyes and shook his head–

Too proud of me to speak!

Charitable Giving: Helping Those In Haiti

In light of the recent ruinous earthquake in Haiti, we are all looking for ways to help. If you are considering making a donation here are a few things to keep in mind to help ensure your kindness gets to those who need it most.

1. Check the Better Business Bureau Web site for information about the charity's mission, compensation, expenses and rating. The site makes it pretty easy to check that the charity is ok.
2. Check out The Wise Giving Guide, published quarterly by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, which summarizes the results of the Alliance’s latest national charity evaluations and features a cover story, usually with giving tips, on charity accountability issues or other topics of interest to donors.
3. Visit a charity rating site, like Guidestart.org, to help you find some of the top rated charities and direct links to make a donation.
4. It never hurts to see what others are saying about an organization in chat rooms, forums, and by checking postings or ratings about the charity you are considering donating to. A lot of negative comments could signal a red flag.
5. Consider mobile giving. MGive Foundation makes it really easy to donate $10 and have it charged to your phone bill. There are other organizations doing this now as well. You can search Google for other options.
6. Facebook has created a disaster relief page on which users can keep track of the latest information regarding the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, as well as relief organizations that are helping the cause.

Even small donations contribute to the efforts to help the many homeless and injured in Haiti.

Live MOMTV: The Spin Cycle Interview: Wednesday (1/13) 9PM ET

Join me on momtv: The Spin Cycle, in conversation with Host Danielle Smith, as we discuss all sorts of things related to teaching kids about money. The why, the how, the when, answer questions and give practical advice.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

9PM ET/ 6PM PT

http://www.momtv.com/TheSpinCycle.html

Just go to the website and feel free to enter questions in the chat box. No need to log in or create any user id's.

Hope to see you there.

Denise

How to painlessly sneak in money lessons for your kids in 2010

Here are three of my top things parents can do in 2010 to bring (ok, sneak) money lessons into day-to-day family time, in simple and fun ways. Great for parents who want to do small things for their kids that add up to big, long-term results.

1. Read books/watch movies that help teach about money.

Sharing stories or great movies with kids is a great way to add in a bit of money training. Find books/movies with direct money lessons/messages like The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein or The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, by Dr Seuss. You can also find other books and movies that help open a conversation around a money value or concept. For example, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a great story to discuss what families have and don't have, about what is enough, and about winning and loosing, etc. Lots and lots of good choices to pick from.

2. Take advantage of the teachable moments that arise each day.

Consider weaving a bit of money training into day-to-day activities like going to the grocery store, piano lessons, or getting ready for the next birthday party. These activities provide endless opportunities to share money values, discuss the "how and why" of money and teach basic concepts and principals to your kids in small bits, over time.

• Money Wizdom Money Moments email tips are full of ideas and inspiration for grabbing (or creating) teachable moments and making the most of them. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email.

3. Start kids managing their own money.

All kids need to learn how to balance saving, spending and sharing their money. When kids have money to manage, the "I want it now" requests stop, kids become better at making decisions, learn how to delay gratification and become more aware of the value of things. The key is to give kids money responsibilities commensurate with their developmental level.

• If you have a 5-8 yr old, click here to download our free Money Wizdom budget program Quick Start Guide. Four simple steps to get your kids up and running today!

At the end of the day, the more we expose kids to money choices, and give them plenty of opportunity to practice making money decisions - we will set them up for a much better and financially sound future.

Why Teach Kids About Money?

We teach young kids about money to ensure they build the skills necessary to make informed financial decisions throughout their lives. The life-long benefits of teaching kids good money habits and skills will make it well worth the effort.

Where do young kids learn about money anyway?

Pretty much everywhere — and especially at home! Young children learn about money by what they see, hear and experience in the world around them. They primarily learn about money by watching their parents use and talk about it. They are also keenly aware of how their parents feel about money by watching facial expressions, listening to word choices and tone of voice.

If you think about it, money is part of most of our daily conversations. We consider what we need (or want), if we need (or want) it now, go through the process of buying it or deciding to do it another day, embrace or bemoan a prior choice, plan for tomorrow, etc. As a consequence of the ever-present money conversations happening at home, kids are exposed to the ongoing successes, struggles and the unending money decisions of every day life.

Why do parents hesitate to teach the skills?

Parents tell us they want their children to grow up with the skills to handle money wisely — yet they often do not feel comfortable teaching children to manage money. Some parents feel they are not qualified, or that money is just not supposed to be discussed with kids. Other parents believe schools should be responsible for teaching kids about money. Others still tell us since they never had training and seem to be doing ok, so there is no need to teach their kids. We recommend parents take the time to teach children about money regardless of their income, their current knowledge level or how they were raised in order to fulfill on their wishes to see their children build money skills that can serve them throughout life.

When should the training begin?

Training, in our view, should start when kids are young — by early elementary school age when money habits are already being formed. We encourage parents to think of their kids childhood years as a money apprenticeship. From pre-school until high school graduation, with parental guidance, children have a chance to practice using money with little risk. And with responsibility for making independent money decisions (with plenty of room for making mistakes), children can learn that money is just a tool — something to be understood, continually learned about and used wisely.

What is the bottom line?

You do not have to be an expert to teach kids money skills and habits. We would like to show parents and other money mentors that it is easy to provide suitable learning opportunities and experiences for children to build good money skills and habits. Please check out our resources for working with your young kids (more resources coming soon for older kids) and let us know if you have any questions. We are here to help, so do not hesitate to ask.

Budgets. Yuck. Who Needs One!

Everyone. Period.

A budget is the tool to manage what we choose to do with the money that comes in and goes out to support our life.

After all money is about choice.

Do we spend some now, do we set it aside for a rainy day, or do we give some away today? We deal with choice in any decision we make that involves our money – most of our decisions.

To know which decision is best requires knowing what money is due to come in, what money is already spoken for and what money is left over, if any. That, simply put, is what a budget helps us understand.

The sad fact is that most people do not know how to build, stick to or just plain manage a budget. Just look around – do your friends do a good job with their budgets? How about your partner/spouse? Do you feel confident in your budgeting skills?

Most importantly, what are you doing to teach your kids how to budget wisely? Do tell!