Financial Literacy

,

Holiday Financial Conversations for the Generations: Children

,

 The hustle and bustle of everyday life does not always give us the chance to have meaningful conversations with our children about money and charitable giving.  The long holiday vacation is the perfect time to have these conversations, but does any child want to spend school break listening to lesson from their parents? 

Some ways to sneak in teachable moments around money and giving this season: 

  • Keep extra change with you when you are out shopping and have your children donate to the Salvation Army red kettles.  Have a conversation about where the money goes and how it helps.
  • While shopping for Christmas gifts, have your children pick out an extra toy to give to Toys for Tots or other charitable organization. Again, talk about where the toy is going.
  • As part of your family holiday tradition, consider adopting a family to provide Christmas or Hanukkah gifts.  Have a conversation about helping others to have a holiday that they might not otherwise have.
  • After your children have opened their gifts, ask them to go through their old toys and clothes to find those that they have outgrown.  These gently-used items can be donated to an organization for others to use and enjoy.

These are just a few ideas to help you instill the spirit of giving in your children this holiday season; to teach them that this time is as much about giving as receiving.

In my next blog, I will provide tips for talking to your teenage children about preparing for college funding.

Sandra Adams, CFP® is a Financial Planner at Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Sandy specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and is a frequent speaker on related topics. In 2012 and 2013, Sandy was named to the Five Star Wealth Managers list in Detroit Hour magazine. In addition to her frequent contributions to Money Centered, she is regularly quoted in national media publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine and Journal of Financial Planning.

Five Star Award is based on advisor being credentialed as an investment advisory representative (IAR), a FINRA registered representative, a CPA or a licensed attorney, including education and professional designations, actively employed in the industry for five years, favorable regulatory and complaint history review, fulfillment of firm review based on internal firm standards, accepting new clients, one- and five-year client retention rates, non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered, number of client households served.

, ,

What Better than the Gift of Financial Education and Support?

, ,

 I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe that it is already time for the holidays.  It seems like just yesterday that I was racking my brain to come up with creative gift giving ideas for all of those people on my list.  I find that it is just as hard to find gifts for adults as it is for children.  But there is one gift I’ve found that transcends generations – the gift of financial education. 

I know, financial education does not sound as attractive or exciting as say, an iPad or a Wine of the Month Club membership, but it is a gift that can keep on giving for a lifetime.  What am I talking about when I suggest a gift of financial education?  Here are just a few ideas:

For Younger  Kids (elementary – high school):

  • If you’re trying to stay away from more electronics, there are hundreds of books, workbooks and other resources available from Jump$tart Coalition (JumpStart.org)
  • Games like Monopoly, The Game of Life, and PayDay are great (Most are available as both traditional board games or for the computer, Wii, etc.)
  • Make a contribution to a 529 College Education fund to support the child’s future education.

For Older Kids (college - young adults):

  • If your gift recipient has had earned income during the year, consider contributing to a ROTH IRA in their name. 
  • Gift shares of a mutual fund or stock introduce them to investing and help them start an investment portfolio.
  • Make a payment towards their outstanding student loan debt.

For Young Adults and Beyond:

  • Fund a year of a credit monitoring service to protect their credit and financial identity from fraud.
  • Purchase financial software to help them with budgeting and financial tracking (i.e. Quicken)
  • Pay for a consultation with a Certified Financial Planner ™ (my personal favorite!).  This can help provide basic financial education and guidance for getting them set on the right financial path.

Giving a gift tied to financial education and support may not make you the hero of the holidays, but you can be certain that the gift will long be remembered as one that lasted long after the holiday decorations are put away for another year.

Any opinions are those of Center for Financial Planning, Inc., and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James.  Investments mentioned may not be suitable for all investors.

,

April is Financial Literacy Month

,

 It is a sad statement about our society that we need to have an entire month dedicated to financial literacy.  Today, a large percentage of individuals and families are experiencing some kind of financial difficulty that is negatively impacting their everyday lives.  Money Management International recently reported that Americans carry more than $2 trillion in consumer debt and 30 percent report having no extra cash.  This is just Americans – you can only imagine what the figures might be worldwide! 

Much of our problem, in my opinion, is lack of education.  We need to start teaching basic financial education to children, so that good financial habits are built over a lifetime.  The problem is, there are very few schools teaching financial education, and many parents don’t have the resources (or sometimes the knowledge) to teach their children these important lessons. 

The good news is that we have a great resource locally.  Detroit is home to Junior Achievement Finance Park, a hands-on financial learning center.  I recently spent the day volunteering with the FPA of Michigan at JA Park with a classroom of 8th graders from Detroit. I saw first-hand how this high-tech facility can help students learn the basics of money management by spending the day in the life of an adult.  Students were assigned a life scenario and were responsible for:

  • Calculating their Net Income (salary after taxes)
  • Managing monthly expenses by making lifestyle choices
  • Setting aside a portion of the budget for savings and charitable giving
  • AND, ultimately, creating a balanced budget 

As we all know, this is not always an easy task.  The day provided students with some real-life perspective on how difficult it can be to manage money, and on why Mom and Dad sometimes have to say “No” to their daily wants. 

In honor of Financial Literacy month, you have the opportunity to visit JA Park with your children FREE of charge this Saturday, April 28th, from 9 a.m. to a 1 p.m. for JA Family Day.  I encourage you to attend with the children in your life…let’s work together to help the next generation become financially literate!

Please feel free to e-mail me for additional financial literacy resources for children and adults.

Raymond James is not affiliated with Junior Achievement.

Live YOUR Plan™