Time has flown and your young little fledglings have grown.  Take a moment now to reflect on your own late teen years.  Your dreams were big, your visions of your future marvelous, and your ambition to succeed unsurpassable. Your soon-to-venture-out children have that same drive in their soul and that same power to take control of their own destiny.
 
Be sure that you have given them building blocks that they will need to be successful in life.  Financial wellness is only one area of life that you, as the mentor, have the ability to teach them.  Emotional and physical wellness are equally important to any individual’s overall personal success.
 

Building Blocks for a Child’s Financial Wellness
You are RAISING an ADULT.  Remember this. Eventually this young person will venture into a world of their own and follow the values and beliefs that you raised them with.

1. Encourage them to succeed in the things that they do best. Whether it be it crafts, reading, math, sports, entertaining, caring – whatever their true passion comes from – encourage them to be successful.
2. Save with them. Start a savings plan that they know about and they are part of.  Talk to them about how interest helps to grow their savings.
3. Chores are important to help the child understand the value that they bring to your family. While money is a factor sometimes, in some families, when it comes to chores – a child really has to understand that chores (the basic everyday duties of any person’s life) shouldn’t be dependent on a “pay cheque”.
4. Pay  them for the task that is out of the norm for them. Perhaps you normally hire the girl down the street to mow the lawn.  If your own child is ready for this task – why not pay them?

 
Financial Steps to Remove Road Blocks

1. Education Savings: Sometimes just knowing that the money is in place for them to go to school encourages your young adult to succeed in this area of life. By starting a savings plan for their education you’ve removed that road block.
2. Your financial health: Be sure that you’ve made efforts to put in place a savings plan for yourself. With this savings in place, you will not be financially dependent on your adult children.
3. Protect your finances: During a time when your family may most need, be sure that you have protected them just in case you can’t make it to work some day. Your income today is what builds their future tomorrow. Ask yourself this ONE question – without your income, will your family be financially OK?

 
During these very exciting years in life - strategies, tools and resources are available to help you raise financially prepared individuals. Put the professionals to work for you. Life is full of changes – make the most of them.
 
 

The information contained in this article was obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, we cannot guarantee that it is accurate or complete. This article is provided as a general source of information and it should not be considered personal investment advice or taxation advice. We are not tax advisors and we recommend that clients seek independent advice from a professional advisor on tax related matters. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Credential Asset Management, Inc.

November 7, 2008