Work/life Balance And The Debit Card - What You Leave To The Kids

Work/Life Balance and the Debit Card - What You Leave to the Kids

WE ARE IN THE MIDST of the largest transfer of wealth in our nation’s history. The “greatest generation” is dying away. As good savers and investors, they’re leaving trillions of dollars to their baby boomer heirs. So that leaves me really scratching my head . . . if they were such great savers, why didn’t they pass this legacy on to their children? And if we didn’t learn how to step up to the plate and take charge of our own financial security, how will our own kids learn?

I worry about today’s younger generation. Kids today are bombarded with marketing messages at an astronomical rate. Did you know that by the time a girl is seventeen, she’ll have been communicated to by a quarter of a million advertisements (specifically directed at her to improve her appearance)?^a If you think the message you’re sending your kids to save, wait, or even do without is being drowned out by Madison Avenue, you’re right.

Fact number two: kids today have unprecedented access to cash. As reported in 2002, Teenage Research Unlimited says that, on average, teens spent $101 a week.^b Regardless if a teen earned this money or was given this much cash to manage as part of an allowance, it is a huge responsibility. Oh. My. Goodness. We’re talking 5,252 bucks a year! Couple this access to cash with the subliminal messages we send because of our own money management challenges, and we may be setting our kids up for disaster.

Wisdom is even better when you have money.Both are a benefit as you go through life. (Ecclesiastes 7:11)

So my question is: How do we leave a legacy of good financial stewardship to our children? How do we impart powerful and liberating lessons in money management and fiscal responsibility to them as they grow?

Let’s start today by praying that we all get our priorities in place to better pass on the important lessons of money management to the next generation.

^a “Girls and Body Image Tips,” Common Sense Media 2003 Research, http://www.commonsensemedia.org/girls-and-body-image-tips.

^b See http://www.teenresearch.com/PRview.cfm?edit_id=152.