Reply to If your teens are very responsible with money, how did you teach them that?

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[quote=Anonymous]While I agree that a lot of it is temperament, kids still need to be taught financial management.  And, like so many other important topics, it's not just a one time talk.  It's a series of age-appropriate conversations over time highlighted with real world examples.

I've got a DH and 2 DSs with ADHD and 1 DD that does not.  The biggest challenge with the ADHD-afflicted in our family is impulsivity and lack of fore-planning.  Yes, they are well versed in the 'theory' of good financial choices/practices but because their execution is lacking, our (my approach) is different than with our DD who, more naturally, takes to this stuff.

Some things that I believe parents should help teach their kids:

-Total cost of ownership:  It's not just the cost of purchasing a thing but the cost of operating and maintaining it.  Sometimes it's better to pay more to acquire something because the long term costs are lower.
-Free trials:  If you're really going to sign up to get something 'free' for 3 months, make sure you know how to get out of it BEFORE you sign up and set reminders to do that
-Check bank/credit card statements:  It takes 5 minutes a month to review those statements.  You never know what charge may slip in there or what your ADHD-afflicted DH has signed up (he's a 'free trial' king).
-Financial goals:  We have long term (retirement/rainy day) and short term (vacation/tattoo/new car/etc.) financial goals that a portion of every pay check goals into.  
-Retirement:  This is a harder one for them to grasp so young but using their education funds as an example, they can see how compound interest works and saving a little bit over a long time can really add up.
-Housing costs:  When the kids entered their teenaged years, we showed them what our house cost and would occasionally look up the costs of 'dream homes' and locations.  TCO discussions were helpful here, too.
-Cost comparisons:  The kids got better at this when it was their own money they were spending (AirPods, anyone?) but routinely do it now for things like college text books (rent/buy and from who).

Finally, we had discussions about 'treating' yourself.  Sure, you can buy a whole box of popsicle at the grocery store for the price of a single one from the ice cream truck but it's okay, sometimes, to splurge.  There's a difference between being thrifty and miserly. You CAN buy frivolous things that bring you joy, just plan for them.[/quote]

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