MONEY RULES KIDS SHOULD LEARN

For all of us who have indulged our children maybe a little too much, and even if you haven't, I saw this in the Wall Street Journal and I wanted to share this with you because I think its great advice to pass on to our kids so that they can be fiscally responsible with their own kids.  Its no secret that most of us who are parents now are going to be hard-pressed to leave anything substantial to our kids or grandkids after we are gone, given the current economic climate, the fact that all of us are living alot longer, AND the loss of alot of retirement money in the recent stock market fiasco. 

So, these are rules that maybe we should all live by to a degree: There were 15 rules, but these are the ones that I think are the most valuable.

These are things you should teach your children (or grandchildren if its too late for the children)

• SPENDING MONEY HAPPENS ONLY AFTER YOU EARN IT.
• GOOD GRADES ARE EXPECTED AND HELP AROUND THE HOUSE IS SIMPLY THE PRICE OF FAMILY LIFE. (read, you don't have to pay kids for grades and chores)
• WHILE 16 IS GENERALLY THE LEGAL AGE OF EMPLOYMENT, ENCOURAGE KIDS STARTING AROUND AGE 13 TO THINK OF WAYS THEY CAN EARN AN  INCOME.
• GUIDE AND ADVISE YOUR KIDS ABOUT MONEY, BUT DON'T DICTATE.
• ONLY 50% OF THE MONEY PUT INTO A PIGGYBANK CAN BE TAKEN OUT TO BUY SOMETHING.  AT LEAST HALF MUST REMAIN INSIDE THE PIG.
• CHILDREN SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SCREW UP FINANCIALLY SO THAT THEY CAN LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES.
• PARENTS DON'T HAVE TO SAVE EVERY LAST DIME A CHILD WILL NEED FOR COLLEGE EXPENSES, YOU ONLY HAVE TO SAVE UP TO YOUR ABILITY OR DESIRE TO PAY.
• ONE OF THE GREATEST GIFTS YOU CAN GIVE YOUR CHILD IS YOUR OWN FINANCIAL SELF-SUFFICIENCY WHEN YOU'RE OLD.
• AT SOME POINT, YOU HAVE TO TELL YOUR KIDS THAT THE BANK OF MOM AND DAD IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED.

We all love our children, but there comes a point when we are not doing them any favors by being human ATM machines. 

If you want to read this whole article, you can find it in the Ct Post, Sunday edition on theWall Street Journal page.