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As parents we talk to our kids about drugs, sex, violence and other important issues. But too often we neglect discussing money with our children. The reasons are not clear, however the consequences are substantial. Several topics should be discussed frequently and adjusted to fit age groups.
Inform your children that if they write a check without having sufficient funds in their account, that return checks can cost them over $50 in fees. That really hurts, especially if they wrote the check for a small amount. Show your children how to reconcile their account monthly. This will ensure they have correctly recorded all their transactions and are aware of their balance.
Abuse of credit can have devastating consequences for our children. Warn your children about excessive credit card debt. If your child graduates from college and puts a new $1000 wardrobe on a VISA with a 17% APY and pays only the minimum payment due each month, it would take them 205.5 months, or 17 years and one month to pay off that credit card. That's assuming they charge nothing else on their credit card.
Show you children the value of saving and the miracle of compounding. For example, if you have two college graduates and one begins saving $50 a month a soon as she graduates from college at age 21, and stops savings after she turns 28, her initial investment would be $4800. Assume your son doesn't begin his savings program until he is 28 years old. He invests $50 a month until he is 65 years old. His total investment is $25,200. For ease of calculation, assuming a 10% APY, guess who has more money at age 65. The surprise is the person who started early and invested only $4,800. At 65, her account would be worth $256,651.13 compared to our second saver whose account would be worth $217,826.06 at age 65. That's the miracle of compounding and starting your savings plan early.
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