State Treasurer David McRae submitted this guest column.
Throughout
April, as part of Financial Education Month, I have been writing about
ways families can improve their financial literacy and savings skills.
What we haven’t talked about yet is how to discuss all this with our
kids.
Nearly
7 in 10 parents report that they are reluctant to talk about money with
their children. And as a dad, I get it. It can be awkward to discuss
about how much or how little you have with kids who might not understand
the intricacies of a family budget – or the value of a dollar. But it’s
important to do nonetheless.
Katherine
Martinelli with the Child Mind Institute writes: “Teaching children to
be financially responsible early on will help them cope with challenges
like setting limits, planning a budget and resisting impulse buys.”
So,
how young is too young to start these conversations? A University of
Wisconsin-Madison study found that kids can begin to understand basic
financial concepts by age three. So, it’s never really too early.
Financial guru Dave Ramsey does, however, share a few tips to start the conversation that I wanted to pass on to you today.
First,
he says, “start slow.” You probably don’t need to talk with your
8-year-old about the differences between a SEP IRA and 401(k). But you
could have them create a budget based off their allowance. Consider
working with your child to put a portion of their allowance directly
into a savings account, give a portion to a charity or church, and
reserve a portion for short-term spending.
Then,
Ramsey advises, be honest. He writes: “If you regret going into debt or
not saving more for college, tell your kids…. [They] can handle
it—really.”
Next,
Ramsey gives any parents nervous about disclosing their salary an out.
He encourages you to talk values (such as budgeting and saving), not
figures. The truth is, regardless of whether you’re talking about a
$40,000-a-year salary or a $10-a-week allowance, these broad concepts
apply.
Fourth,
he encourages families to set goals together. Whether it’s a vacation
or a car, let kids know what you’re saving for and allow them to
participate in the process.
Finally,
learn about money together. I’m excited to share the State Treasury has
put together a series of tools to help you do that. Please visit Treasury.MS.gov/
Mississippi Treasurer David McRae is
the 55th Treasurer for the State of Mississippi. In this role, he helps
manage the state’s cash flow, oversees College Savings Mississippi, and
has returned more than $20 million in unclaimed money to
Mississippians. For more information, visit Treasury.MS.gov.
6 comments:
Nothing against David personally, I’ve heard he is a good man and capable, but I generally don’t want the government giving me advise on managing money.
If I’m advising my kids, I’ll tell them to watch the gvmt and do the opposite of that.
WTF? Really? I didn’t know the state treasurer was responsible for financial literacy?. And even if he was, is he so shortsighted as to think those that are financially illiterate read press releases?
Financial management, using a calculator and real world applications would go a lot further than the Pythagorean theorem and other useless stuff that that force children to learn. They always told us we would have to do it manually because "what if you don't have a calculator"? I'm 38 and I am never further than arms length from a calculator or an app that will calculate what I need. Teach kids how to manage money, invest, save, and other real world stuff to better themselves.
Yeah good luck with that. Children today don’t give a rats butt about saving. They primarily care about what have you done for them lately. And the more you give them the less they respect what you do for them. The lure of free communist money is turning today’s generation into self serving fascists
4:06 - In general, 'children today' also don't give a rat's butt about algebra, Spanish or English comp....but they're forced to sit and listen to (learn?) those things. Financial literacy should be required in public schools beginning in third grade and gradually ramped up each of the following nine years.
Except in private and parochial school settings, the teaching of financial literacy, personal responsibility, parenting and family values is real high on the racist radar.
Admission of systemic racism, being the new goal of education, all of those other areas are counter to wealth redistribution and the achievement of mediocrity. All one need know about a bank account is that the government will make periodic deposits.
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