Giving Cash Vs Giving Knowledge

Many parents would want to give their children cash and knowledge if they can afford it but there are others who desire one or the other. To me this is a decision you have to make for each of your child individually considering their character and personality.

Here I would like to share an old moral story that I have read and some of you I am sure will remember this story too.

This is a story of “The Old Merchant and The Two Bags of Wealth”.

A rich old merchant had two sons which both wanted to take over the family business. So the merchant decided to give each of them a bag of wealth and sent them out to the world with instructions to use the contents to grow wealthier and prove which of them was the worthier.

The first bag was filled with gold and the first son took it and ran out into the world. The second son took the second bag and was surprised that it was empty. He begged his father to know why his brother had been granted a bag filled with gold.

The rich old merchant consoled his son that he loved both his children equally and explained how the bag had already taught its first lesson of business that is to seek understanding in the process of filling it. The merchant then spent the week sharing lessons of his experience in business and then sent his second son off to the world. He quickly hurried of to catch up with his brother who had the bag of gold.

At the end of the year, the first son returned home as a beggar with his clothes torn, his feet bare and his body dirty and thin and looking hungry and weak.

“What have you done with the bag of gold I have given you” asked his father. The son fell on his knees and wept.

“You didn’t give me enough, he replied. “I started well, spending the first half to set myself up with a fine house and many camels, but then I lost everything to poor investments, bad merchants and disreputable money lenders.”

Then the second son came home with a herd of camels trailing behind and his empty bag now full of gold and each camel carrying more gold, treasure and gemstones.

So the first child ran to his brother and begged to know what had been inside the second bag, and the younger man emptied the gold into his father’s lap as a gift, than tossed the empty bag to his brother.

What is the moral you can get from this story that you can share with your children?

Is this the best time you share this story with your children? Don't you think this is the best time to teach our children smart money habits?

Will share with you more what I have learnt from this ancient story in my next posting.

Happy New Year!

www.RealSmarTeens.com

Teens Financial Literacy

Don’t Forget To Teach Your Children About Financial Literacy!

Financial intelligence says by Robert Kiyosaki is not about how much money we can make: it’s more about how much we can save and how hard that money works for us.

Why do some people who do not attend university have been successfully? It is because they know how to manage their finances well. Many who made lots of money have become bankrupt because of bad money habits.

We as Asian parents think that talking about money is a taboo subject and will ‘pollute’ their children’s innocent minds. We make our choice and face the consequences.

Asian parents always think that they want to provide and protect their children, but the day will come when they must provide for themselves. When our children grow up they must know how to live within their mean, grow their money and extend help to those in need. This is an essential skill of life and good financial management needs to be taught.

Can all this knowledge come in a day? No it doesn’t. Lifetime habits need to be inculcated. Who is then the best teacher to teach children about money?

The answer is of course we as PARENTS.

If you think that financial education should be left to schools then perhaps we as parents should think again about this topic!

WHY? The process of becoming financial literate is actually a lifelong process that starts before our children enter schools. It comes in proportion to experiences gained outside a school environment and continues well after graduation day into adulthood and even into retirement.

Schools and financial seminars only help to supplement and reinforce what has been taught at home. We as parents are the ONLY people in a position to provide consistency to the learning curve for our children.

Today, children have access to more resources and more things to buy with those resources. The advertisements proclaiming the coolest toy in town and brand power is exerted on young minds. Not forgetting peer pressure. Both this combination of forces are going to distort a young person’s sense of values.

We as parents forget to guide our children well in the ability to make money as we focus on our daily activities to send our children to numerous tuition class so that they can enter good university to get a good degree and of course a good job.

The important lesson as parents we forget is the need to focus on managing the money earned that is how to save, preserve and grow it wisely.

Do you realize that many people who are wealthy today are not necessary people with large incomes or inheritance but those who save and invest well and spend wisely?

Most youngsters today are ill-prepared for the financial responsibilities awaiting them in adulthood. Now’s the time to teach them lessons you only wish you had known at their age.

How about you? Tell what do you think?

Cheers!

http://www.realsmarteens.com/

Financial Intelligence

A child’s most important teachers are his parents. Children learn by watching what we do more than what we say. So I must walk my talk, continue to read and learn about money, finance, spend money consciously and live a simple lifestyle.

We as Asian parents think that talking about money is a taboo subject and will ‘pollute’ their children’s innocent minds. We make our choice and face the consequences.

I feel that financial literacy is a life long process. It should start before children enter schools. No matter how much effort is put into formal methods of financial education in schools, we as parents should put consistency effort in providing the learning curve to our children.

Even we are rich or poor, we must always teach our children 'how to fish than give them a fish'. Therefore, we must take action of what we should do now or our children will be left behind. It is very important to educate our children the financial literacy that our parents have never taught us. We learnt from our mistakes so don't let our children learnt the same mistakes we have made.

Do you have anything financial story to share? Please leave a comments and tell me what do you think?