Everyone knows at least one person like this: never had responsibilities as a child, got everything handed to them no questions asked, cruised through college without having to work, got set up with a job and a plush salary, purchased clothes, cars, toys, and a huge house, then suddenly they start getting overdue notices and collection calls, and finally have to declare bankruptcy and lose everything. It is not too uncommon to hear stories similar to that brief outline, especially over the last twenty years or so when it seems that financial responsibility has not been taken as seriously as it had been by older generations.
My parents were old-school. When I started getting into comic books and baseball cards around 10 or 11 years old, they told me that I would have to start earning the money to spend on those items. Growing up in New York, it was fairly easy during the fall to rake leaves and in the winter to shovel snow for the cash, and I also had a paper route to cover the spring and summer as well. They took me to the bank and opened a savings account for me to teach me how to save and manage my funds. It was a joint account so that I would have to go to the bank in order to make transactions in order to teach me the ropes.
By the time I was in high school and turned 16, looking forward to taking a drivers education course, they signed the working papers so that I could start working at McDonalds in order to teach me about salary, taxes, and saving for a specific purpose. When my 17th birthday cam and I had earned my drivers license, I was not just handed the keys to their car while they went out and purchased a new one like so many of my friends' parents had done. On the contrary, I raided my savings account and paid for my own car, a burgundy, oxidized 1986 Pontiac Sunbird.
In conjunction with my college application, I also submitted the necessary paperwork to get into the work-study program working for the Dean of the Business Department. I wasn't going to have my way paid for me, I would have to earn a portion of it myself. It wasn't all fun and games; the student-employees had to file papers, deliver memos, and stock supplies rather than sit around for 3-4 hours a day playing games in the office.
By the time I got out into the workforce, I had already had both savings and checking accounts, established lines of credit, filed tax returns, and actually understood what taxes were being witheld and why. I had already built a credit history to enable me to rent an apartment as well as lease a car without a co-signer. When it came time to purchase my first home, the woman representing the bank for my pre-approval almost couldn't believe that at my age (I was 29 at the time) I walked in with credit scores over 800, the required bank and brokerage statements, pay stubs, and tax returns without even being asked, and the ability to make a down payment on the spot.
This little story isn't meant to brag or boast, but to outline one simple truth. If you get involved early, and start teaching children about money and financial responsibility before it truly becomes necessary, there is a greater chance that they will not deal with the fiscal issues so many people today deal with. There is a saying about it being easier to prevent a problem rather than allowing it to occur and then facing the task of solving it. I'm willing to bet that when it comes to finances, especially in this economy, most rational people would agree that this saying is dead on.
My parents were old-school. When I started getting into comic books and baseball cards around 10 or 11 years old, they told me that I would have to start earning the money to spend on those items. Growing up in New York, it was fairly easy during the fall to rake leaves and in the winter to shovel snow for the cash, and I also had a paper route to cover the spring and summer as well. They took me to the bank and opened a savings account for me to teach me how to save and manage my funds. It was a joint account so that I would have to go to the bank in order to make transactions in order to teach me the ropes.
By the time I was in high school and turned 16, looking forward to taking a drivers education course, they signed the working papers so that I could start working at McDonalds in order to teach me about salary, taxes, and saving for a specific purpose. When my 17th birthday cam and I had earned my drivers license, I was not just handed the keys to their car while they went out and purchased a new one like so many of my friends' parents had done. On the contrary, I raided my savings account and paid for my own car, a burgundy, oxidized 1986 Pontiac Sunbird.
In conjunction with my college application, I also submitted the necessary paperwork to get into the work-study program working for the Dean of the Business Department. I wasn't going to have my way paid for me, I would have to earn a portion of it myself. It wasn't all fun and games; the student-employees had to file papers, deliver memos, and stock supplies rather than sit around for 3-4 hours a day playing games in the office.
By the time I got out into the workforce, I had already had both savings and checking accounts, established lines of credit, filed tax returns, and actually understood what taxes were being witheld and why. I had already built a credit history to enable me to rent an apartment as well as lease a car without a co-signer. When it came time to purchase my first home, the woman representing the bank for my pre-approval almost couldn't believe that at my age (I was 29 at the time) I walked in with credit scores over 800, the required bank and brokerage statements, pay stubs, and tax returns without even being asked, and the ability to make a down payment on the spot.
This little story isn't meant to brag or boast, but to outline one simple truth. If you get involved early, and start teaching children about money and financial responsibility before it truly becomes necessary, there is a greater chance that they will not deal with the fiscal issues so many people today deal with. There is a saying about it being easier to prevent a problem rather than allowing it to occur and then facing the task of solving it. I'm willing to bet that when it comes to finances, especially in this economy, most rational people would agree that this saying is dead on.