Children & Their Financial Future

In listening to a local financial advisor talk radio show over the weekend, a caller called in a question asking how can he explain to his children the importance of investing and saving for the future?  The guy went on about how you want to accumulate assets so that you won't have to work as hard when you get older in life.  In my opinion, he missed THE real key and that is TIME.  Children have time and the ability to benefit from the power of compounding over a longer period of time.

Today, children are not being taught prudent financial managemet.  Even at Walmart, children can get a FREE piece of candy for opening up a credit card account.  Dave Ramsey commented that that was low on the corporation's part to lure in future customers.   Credit cards and their balances are high, yet subjecting children's credit history to this activity when their income is nonexistent is ludicrious. This is a recipe for financial disaster and perhaps we are seeing some of the first signs of these credit problems with the Recession of 2007-09. 

Children look down upon work and earning money. It's hard to believe that young teens expect to make $20 an hour and do nothing for it.  There are some hard working teens in our area but most want to waste time on the computer, check out the latest in fashion or goof off in other ways.  I certainly don't have many high school kids knocking on my door offering to mow the lawn or do handy work.  Where are the children working these days, if they are?  McDonald's is looking to higher many employees this year, yet many high school kids look down upon that line of work.  It is sad because people used to embrace hard work, develop good character and people skills and help support the family. 

If weird in America means that your child works a decent paying job, doesn't do drugs, and brings home an above average credit card, then what may be even more weird is for them to not have any debt, fund their college though jobs, savings and/or scholarships, and have an investment portfolio.  I commend the parents and child willing to follow that path in America.