Personal Finance - Arla Wallace
Arla Wallace is an accounting professional with over 20 years experience. She spent several years working for both publicly-traded and private entities before founding her own business. Today she partners with small business owners so they can focus on operations while leaving the responsibility of staying on top of accounting tasks to her. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified ProAdvisor for Quickbooks Online.

What You Need to Teach Your Children about Money

What You Need to Teach Your Children about Money

As a parent and the primary teacher of your children, managing money is one of the most important lessons to teach. From an early age, children learn money behavior from the spending habits of their parents. Involving children of all ages in money decisions can help them learn to understand and respect money. Here are three fundamental lessons that every child should learn.

Good Money Management Equals Success

There aren’t many things one can control in life, but being in control of your money can assist you  in meeting your financial goals. Whether you choose to attend college or trade school, pursue hobbies, buy a house, have a family, or start a business, financial freedom will give you options to do what you want with a lifestyle that is within your means.

Money isn’t just for spending—you should save regularly too. Opening a bank account is a great place to teach your children about storing money safely. Bank and custodial accounts remain under the control of a parent for children 18 years of age and younger.

Debt Can Be Bad

Learn to pay yourself first through a savings or a retirement account, and avoid debt as much as possible. Build an emergency fund to use for unexpected expenses or if you were to lose your job.  While debt may be necessary at times—to fund your education or secure a home loan—debt can also make it difficult to save and can impact your stress level. Choose a spending plan based on your income and make changes to adjust your budget when necessary. Work to pay off your credit card bills monthly and borrow only what you really need. Maintain a good credit score by paying all of your bills on time. This can work to save you money with lower monthly payments and lower interest rates, and by allowing you to secure the best terms a lender can offer.

Find Ways to Serve Others

Seek volunteer opportunities that align with your interests in order to practice giving back to your community and to others.  Giving to others not only benefits the receiving party, but will benefit you, the giver, as well.  Start small—even young children can donate money received from a birthday or money saved in a piggy bank to a cause they care about. 

You are responsible for the money you earn and you will be equally responsible for the money you spend.  Since you probably will need money until the day you die, practice good money management skills on a daily basis, and seek to educate yourself about finances every step along your journey. Appreciate what you have; save more; spend less.