I sometimes feel a heavy weight when I think of all the people in my life that directly depend on me. My wife and I have six wonderful kiddos, and I would not change our family dynamic for the world.
But it would be foolish to declare that our big family has not changed how I interact with world. There are mouths to be feed. Backs to be clothed. Secondary education and future weddings expenses to plan for.
Part of my responsibility as Dad is to allow my kiddos look into how I deal with the financial side of life (model) and provide strong foundations so that they can interact with money wisely (teach).
The following are some of the ideas that I have be toying with lately.
1. The 70/20/10 Principle
All of my kiddos start receiving an allowance at age three. It is meager, but initial. First, their allowance is not a reward for doing what they should already be doing. We have a saying in our home, "Since you are apart of the family, then you will serve other members of the family."
There allowance is an educational tool.
- No more than 70 percent of what they receive (different amounts based on age) should be used for spending.
- At least 20 percent needs to be saved. I automatically pull this amount out and put it in their saving s account.
- At least 10 person should be used to blessed others. Our family has been blessed and we want to promote generosity
2. But Saving Is Not Enough
My older kiddos are growing out of their "childish want" phase and are looking into making larger, more informed purchases. They are starting to save up some decent sums of money (for their age).
There is a new opportunity to teach them about investing - using money to make more money. Finding the right investment platform is proving to be a bit of a challenge. There are technical and logistical consideration. But just as important I want them to own "investing," instead of being something that I drive moving forward.
What products and companies do they connect with? How hands on or hands off should they be now and in the future? How can I help them understand that time is their greatest investment success factor?
3. Physical Assets
Precious metals and other physical stores of value are easy to connect with because they are tangible. When you touch something, it seems more real.
One of my daughters is a bit of a pack rat collector. For each of the last three years, she has purchased a single silver Chinese Panda coin. Will her collection make her rich beyond her wildest dreams? Nope, but she is starting to understand stores of value.
4. Digital Assets
How about all of the "fake" zero and ones people keep taking about? All that "money" that people print out of thing air?
I want my children to understand the value of crypto currency and decentralized technologies. There is a big, wide world filled with many choices. I want my kids to feel comfortable exploring what is possible while be grounded enough to not invest fiat money into the digital world that the cannot afford to lose.
I think that digital platforms could provide endless opportunities as well:
- video (YouTubes and DTube)
- blogging
- building an email list
- finding support on Patreon and other similar platforms
I still want to protect my kinds from the trolls of the internet, but I have to be completely honest that the internet will plan an even more vital role in their life then it has in mine.
5. Intellectual Ideas
I want to encourage my kiddos to engage in all sorts of creativity. I want them to be business people (if that is what they want). I want them to be influencers (if that is what they choose).
Their minds needs to be sharp and conditioned to learn in a world that is moving a light speed.
Their minds will not be measured by degrees or certificates, but rather by the ideas, creations, and products that flow. It is not my place to determine how much they impact the world with their thoughts, but I need to make sure that they are not limited in their impact because a barrier I have placed on them
Final Thoughts
I write this post with both excitement and worry. My hope is that I have not/will not fail my children in any way.
I want to help prepare them for their future, including how to manage finances, both traditional and digital.
I want to hear from you.
- What other ideas or principles should I introduce to my kids?
- What tools or resources would you recommend using with new investors?
Thanks for stopping by!
@SumatraNate