Principles to Engage Teenager's interest in financial literacy

How the three principles that I have share the last time help you in engaging your teen’s interest in financial literacy?
Below are the other three principles that help to engage or re-engage teens in the interest of financial literacy strategies.

This principle teaches us that we must talk to the kids in the interest of their financial ideas and not ours. When trying to motivate children to learn don’t think about what you want. Think about what they want and help them get it by offering them opportunities and options.

Be prepared to relinquish power or delegate whenever possible or in other words throw the teens a challenge. For safety, you have to be careful what decisions you allow them to make and how far down the wrong path you’ll let them go before they get into trouble. But if you can stand the nerves, let them set off in the wrong directions for a while before they discover for themselves that your experience would have saved them

Be genuine and keenly interested in sharing great new financial tips with your family and when your children come to you with new ideas, return their excitement. Treat the negative experiences as learning opportunities.

I do hope that the 6 principles that I have shared will help you to create your teen’s interest in financial literacy. These principles will help you to engage your teens as our own parents weren’t able to pass their financial knowledge and skill base to us.

Please do not feel embarrassed about having holes in our own financial literacy because you’ll be learning new things from your teens as they progress through each challenge. It is my hope that this discovery with your teenagers will help you rediscover your own aspiration for financial literacy.

The important thing in learning is that you must HAVE FUN!

Till my next sharing. Have Fun

Christina
www.RealSmarTeens.com

EngagingTeens Interest in Financial Literacy

This is just the beginning of year 2007, what are the plans you have for your kids that you can educate them about financial literacy?

Times are now different as parents are shaking their heads at the differences between themselves and the children which we called generations! The generation gap is fast becoming a generation lap as our kids or maybe our grandchildren overtake us in the information they have at their fingertips.

The processing skills, especially using the internet, are one key element that sets us apart, sometimes the differences between adults and kids are rarely radical as you think.

A teen faces many of the same dilemmas as us in making their own financial decisions and consumer decisions based on research.

As parents we need to recognize the learning process of each child so that we can work on them individually. Each of our children is unique. I have some learning strategy that I always remember which I am sure some of you have learnt but didn’t apply it to their lives. We can take these principles to help our children to engage their interest in financial literacy.

The guru I am talking about is none other than Dale Carnegie. I got these principles from his bestseller “How to win friends and influence people”. Below are the principles I gather that help to engage or re-engage teens in the interest of financial literacy

1. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain. Criticism to a teen that is learning a new concept will always boomerang back, because a child switches to a defense mode instead of staying open to new ideas. So avoid criticism, condemnation and complaints wherever possible when teaching financial principles to your children

2. Give honest, sincere appreciation. Reward correct decisions of financial behaviour (especially the small achievements in the case of beginner) by giving honest, sincere appreciation whenever it’s warranted. At the same time keep an open eye to help discourage bad habits from forming. This fundamental principle can be used for training everything.

3. Arouse the teens an eager to learn. Don’t force any finance idea down your children throats. Much better to back off if you experience problems and let them discover ideas for themselves by:-

a) putting them in positions where they need to handle cash or make purchasing decisions as regular as possible

b) leaving book marked books or open newspaper with useful information lying around where they likely to find them

What do you think of the above principles? I will share with you the other 3 principles in my next blog.

Till next time. Happy engaging your time with your teens

Christina

http://www.realsmarteens.com/

Moral of the Story

Happy New Year and may this wonderful year 2007 brings you more ideas to teach your children with Smart Money Habits.

So what is the moral you can use to teach your kids from the ancient story that I last wrote in my previous articles.

Alright,let me share with you, the moral of the story are:-

1. Never drool over the advantages that others seem to have, just do the best you can with whatever you can gather.
2. Is best to teach your kids to fish than to give them a fish.

In this 2007, what are the plans you have for your kids that you can educate them about financial literacy?

Share some ideas with me by giving me a comments at this blog.

Till next posting.

Christina
www.realsmarteens.com

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?

Rich Kid Poor Kid

I remember reading Rich Kid Poor Kid by Robert Kiyosaki and he stated that most children learn better by playing games. So when is actually the best time to teach kids about smart money habits? I feel that we start teaching money as a life skill as early as their pre school years. But you know your children better than anyone else.

However, Robert Kiyosaki advises that we should not let our children think that they are entitiled to an allowance. Instead, teach them to view the allowance as earned compensation for the completion of certain tasks or responsibilities.

I teach children about saving by introducing them the ‘Three Jars system’. One is for quick change, from which they can take money out and spend it on whatever they want. The second jar is for medium term savings, in which they save for a larger purchase.

And of course the last jar is for long term savings, that is for their college or tertiary education. This will teach them delay gratification and get them into the habit of saving.

Teenager Money Habit

Is your teens spending money wisely? Do you know how to educate your children smart money habit? How to instil good financial habits in children?

As parents, we want to provide and protect our children. Eventually, the day will come when they must provide for themselves. Children must know how to live within their means, grow their money and extend hep to those in need. All these habits doesn't happen in a day. Habits must be inculcated.

How about you as a parents ,tell me what do you think?