If you’re a parent with a high net worth who cares about your children’s future, teaching youngsters about wealth management is imperative. Without the proper guidance, it’s easy for privileged progeny to quickly squander their money. Even worse, kids who don’t know how to handle money responsibly are far less likely to develop good character. Here are a few tips to ensure that your offspring can manage money intelligently.
Without a doubt, understanding the nature of compound interest and learning how to leverage it wisely is the key to long-term financial success. Adolescents need to learn early on that compounding interest is often the albatross that sinks even the sturdiest of ships. Setting up a savings account that compounds monthly for a child will show them the power of compound interest in an extremely visceral way.
Few things in life teach an adolescent more about wealth creation and preservation than running an enterprise of their own. Whether it’s a lemonade stand or a leaf-raking service, operating a part-time business will teach kids the value of hard work and perseverance. Furthermore, starting a small business will allow children to familiarize themselves with the legal and bureaucratic hurdles that entrepreneurs have to negotiate.
Sooner or later, children need to understand the importance of investing in publicly traded companies when it comes to building wealth. Encourage them to play around with a trading simulator like MarketWatch Virtual Stock Exchange or Wall Street Survivor to get their feet wet. Stress the importance of structuring a portfolio that boasts a sensible mix of blue-chip stocks that pay dividends and more speculative start-up plays.
Those who’ve never held down a high school job that pays minimum wage have missed an amazing opportunity to grow as people. Quite a few notable wealthy parents push their kids into working entry-level jobs for a variety of reasons. Flipping burgers and washing dishes at a young age makes you a more empathetic and fiscally prudent adult later on in life.
If you want to show a young adult the surest path to financial success, introducing them to property rentals is a solid idea. You don’t even need to own an apartment complex or a mere duplex to get started. Buying a small parking lot or even a single space in a congested area works just as well. Showing them how to invest in REITs is another solid alternative.
Sticking to a budget is often the difference between long-term financial success and utter ruin. You can teach kids the importance of prudent financial management during their most impressionable years with an allowance. Give them a specific amount of money per month to spend and hold the line when it runs out early. Doing so will ensure that they develop discipline and a dedication to saving.
When you examine the lives of ultra-successful people, you often find that the most charitable characters make the most money. They also seem to enjoy their lives far more than those that don’t give back to society. Get your kids to contribute what money they can to charitable organizations early and often. Better yet, help them to organize a charity of their own for a worthy cause.
Bombarding youngsters with a lot of information all at once is a bad way to teach any lesson. Starting early and doling out little nuggets of wisdom gradually is the best way to develop a healthy understanding of wealth management and growth. No matter how smart a kid might be, he or she can’t possibly learn everything there is to know about managing money in a day.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as an offer to buy or sell any securities or to make or consider any investment or course of action.