Be sure to teach the kids about money, starting at an early age. It's important for them to learn lessons like: I spent all my money on candy, so I don't have money for the new XBox game that just came out that I want.
Originally Posted by 69er
My favorite lesson to teach kids about money is to take a sum of money, preferably a substantial sum, that they wish to spend on something not entirely necessary. Then have them sit down with a calculator and figure out how much money they would have at age 55 or 65 if they invested that money in the stock market and the market averaged a return 6, 7, and 8% during the time in question.
My daughter was thinking of spending an extra $3,500 out of her money (on top of what we were paying) to get a nicer car. Then, when she figured that this would be over $130,000 in lost assets by the time she turned 65, she suddenly decided that the nicer car wasn't so important.
