Financial Literacy
April is Financial Awareness Month.
Feeling overwhelmed about talking to your kids about money?
I get it.
There's a lot of ground to cover!
Expense Tracking. Budgeting. Saving. Building Credit. Understanding the difference between a WANT and a NEED. And on and on.....
Financial Literacy Tip#1:
Start with Expense Tracking with your little ones.
Choose how you and they would like to do it:
On your phone
In a spreadsheet
Pick an app
Have a conversation about the expenses. Remember, the goal is to build awarness about where the money is going and to be in control of one’s own money. No judgement.
Do you have older kids? You can ask them where they would like to start and go from there. Does that sound awkward? Picture all of the tough conversations that we deal with as parents in this era, take a deep breath, and dive in. In an interview with CNBC, Investment expert, entrepreneur, chairwoman of Starbucks, Mellody Hobson posits we talk to our kids about very uncomfortable topics like alcohol, drugs and sex before we talk to them about money. I know this was the case in my house growing up - except we didn’t talk about any of those uncomforable topics! And now, while I do feel like we have covered a lot of bases at home, I realized we have come up short when it comes to financial literacy. We can’t just absorb this information through osmosis. Money is a life skill that needs to be taught
The good thing is, just like with a diet, each day is a new day. A new day to learn, a new day to own our money. Our money is our power and we get to own our own power. Whether it be a little bit or a lot a bit. I love that about money.
You may be wondering why I’m talking about financial literacy in these health coaching pages. Financial wellness is critical to optimal wellness. It is an attitude, it is a lifestyle, and it determines how we think, what we eat, how we move.
Have a conversation about the expenses. Build awareness. Own your financial power and importantly, let your kids own their financial power, as well.