Financial Education for Kids

[Joe4007]

It seems to me that teaching our kids the basics of personal finance is something that can be greatly improved upon. I don't expect this to happen in yeshiva / school, so was looking to put together some sort of program to be implemented at home whereby kids can learn the basics of income and expense, budgeting, and at a more advanced level, borrowing vs. saving and investing.

I was looking for ideas on how to go about this.

Some points for discussion:

-Allowance vs. Earnings: On the income side, some say (pretty sure Ramsey is in this camp), that for the most part kids shouldn't be given allowances, but rather they should earn them (housework for instance). OTOH, that has to be balanced in a way so that kids don't expect to be compensated for everything they do.

-Needs vs. Wants: On the expense side, I feel like typically kids would get to spend all of their allowance / earnings on discretionary stuff they want which isn't how it works IRL. If the point was to teach them how to budget, there would have to be a certain mandatory expense that would represent a need rather than a want. Rent might be too harsh a concept for kids to have to pay to their parents, but what about a mandatory charity donation?

[dm123]

Would love to see more ideas on this please!
@Joe4007 great job laying it out!

Probably just echoing Joe4007 sentiment but:
It's probably much more practical if the "education" is from home and implemented. When a child or even a teenager learns finance in school, it's often intangible and unreal, and while there may be some intellectual learning, not sure how much the child actually picks up and is able to implement later. While if done at home and they "experience" money in the real world (profit from certain chores/growth from "investments"/cost of "interest" expenses/necessary expenses-needs/variable expenses-wants/etc) it's more likely to "stick" and "educate" the child.
Probably also very dependent on child's learning style/type

[jfish227]

Rent might be too harsh a concept for kids to have to pay to their parents, but what about a mandatory charity donation?

Just want to make sure kids don't have a resentment towards charity and learn naturally to donate with a giving heart

[moko]

It seems to me that teaching our kids the basics of personal finance is something that can be greatly improved upon. I don't expect this to happen in yeshiva / school, so was looking to put together some sort of program to be implemented at home whereby kids can learn the basics of income and expense, budgeting, and at a more advanced level, borrowing vs. saving and investing.

I was looking for ideas on how to go about this.

Some points for discussion:

-Allowance vs. Earnings: On the income side, some say (pretty sure Ramsey is in this camp), that for the most part kids shouldn't be given allowances, but rather they should earn them (housework for instance). OTOH, that has to be balanced in a way so that kids don't expect to be compensated for everything they do.

-Needs vs. Wants: On the expense side, I feel like typically kids would get to spend all of their allowance / earnings on discretionary stuff they want which isn't how it works IRL. If the point was to teach them how to budget, there would have to be a certain mandatory expense that would represent a need rather than a want. Rent might be too harsh a concept for kids to have to pay to their parents, but what about a mandatory charity donation?

https://www.ramseysolutions.com/store/youth/financial-peace-junior?gclid=CjwKCAiA85efBhBbEiwAD7oLQLbAz1JEVWXM37x0qMVSyoJjhexN96PMhtyN0HAhW1j-AXgJYFLk_BoCGIEQAvD_BwE

[farmbochur]

As an older teenager, I asked my father why he didn't drive a fancy sports car like a certain colleague of his. He told me that paying Yeshiva tuition was equivalent to driving a luxury vehicle off a cliff every year.

Critique that style of parenting if you wish, but the next זמן of learning was the best by far in my tenure as a bachur.

[whacked1]

He told me that paying Yeshiva tuition was equivalent to driving a luxury vehicle off a cliff every year.

Meaning a giant waste of money?

[farmbochur]

I suppose you could interpret it that way. Or maybe as a repudiation of consumerism?

[yos9694]

I suppose you could interpret it that way. Or maybe as a repudiation of consumerism?

Now you can tell him that it would make him uninsurable