“How’s your money doing?” my grandfather would ask whenever I visited, which was often — he lived next door. And then I’d have to report the balance of my bank account and how the stock he bought for me was doing.
I thought every kid grew up that way.
My grandfather, who started his construction business in 1931 — during the nadir of the Great Depression — and built it into a successful commercial real estate operation, made sure all four of his grandchildren understood the value of saving money.
“When you go to the bank,” he’d tell us, “stand still and listen. That’s the sound of your money working for you.”
Now that I’ve built a successful business of my own, I have passed along Pop’s financial planning advice to my own children, who maintain their own bank accounts and Certificates of Deposit, do odd jobs around the house and yard for cash, and run lemonade stands on hot summer days (never accounting for the cost of supplies, provided by Mom. Ahem.)
They probably think every kid grows up that way. But they don’t. We all know they don’t. In just one generation, the savings rate plummeted from 30% to near 0%, the lowest since the Great Depression. And yet, your kids probably get a lot of cash.
Kidworth, a free service that helps parents raise a generation of financially literate children, estimates that kids earn on average $25,000 from birth to age 18. The check from Uncle Jim. The fiver Grandma stuck in their Valentine’s Day card. The cash from mowing the neighbor’s lawn. Allowances. After school jobs. It all adds up.
Like my grandfather, Kidworth believes in helping kids learn the value of money, save it up and manage it well. That’s why I agreed to be a brand ambassador for them. Their free service lets kids set money saving goals, invite relatives to partake and keep track of their money. Pop would like that.
Before you send out your kids’ holiday lists to the relatives, take a look at Kidworth. It helps your kids make their money work for them, and can even help them save up for anything from iPads to college tuition.
MommaSaid has been compensated as a brand ambassador to Kidworth, but the thoughts and words are all ours. We just really like the idea of teaching kids to save.
