Just last week, on July 15th, I was part of a personal finance radio show held by LifeTuner. LifeTuner is a new project by AARP.

The show was focused around Denise LaBuda, founder of Economic Independence Group. EIG’s main goal is to support and empower families with young children to find harmony and sufficiency in their relationship with money.

I was asked to join in on the call and throw in a few comments here and there (mainly because of my post “The Three Most Influential Lessons From My Childhood”).

You can hear the show by going to Talk Shoe or clicking the play button below (RSS subscribers may not see this!):

Brief Overview of the Call

The call was mainly geared towards advice for three to five year olds. However, Denise answered a few questions that were more relevant for older children.

I chimed in two or three times, and a few listeners/people in the chat room got to ask questions.

When all was said and done, the time flew by. This is a VERY important topic and we probably could have gone on for a few more hours. If this isn’t directly relevant to you, it is relevant to someone you know.

A few points Denise covered:

• It’s hard to unravel bad habits, especially as an adult. So the best way to circumvent that issue? Teach your child good habits from a young age. When are they ready? As soon as they ask you to buy them something at the store.
• Make sure to teach lessons at an age appropriate level. Basic budgeting for you is NOT the same as basic budgeting for them. You learn to ride a bike with training wheels first.
• When teaching basic budgeting skills, have your kids divide their money into three parts: one part they will save, one part they will share, and one part they can spend. This reminds me of HLR’s post: The Savings Account, The Spending Account & The Charity Account.
• People are born as either spenders or savers. You’ll see this characteristic in even the youngest children.
• Don’t make money decisions invisible. Involve your kids in family discussions about money. Keeping them in the dark is not going to help them understand how bills are paid, problems are solved or big purchases are planned.
• Towards the end she goes over college costs (and I offer some advice) as well as a few other things for an older child.

Share Your Feedback!

Let me know what you think of the show and if you have anything to add, feel free to drop your knowledge in the comments!

I already noticed a few places where I could improve, but feel free to point those out, too :)