- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- preschoolers today articles
- preschoolers today q&a
- children today articles
- children today q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Raising a Financially Literate Child
What You Need to Know to Teach You Kids About Money
By Diane Kennedy
There is a clear dividing line in America today between those that are destined to be financially successful and those who will be financially destitute, and the rift between those groups of people is growing each year. The fundamental difference between these groups is a result of their personal understanding about finances. The rich and those who are on the path to wealth have high financial literacy. They are working progressively toward financial freedom. The rest don't, and instead aimlessly wander on their own directionless financial path.
Our school systems, including even the most advanced graduate programs, do not include financial literacy. As a result, most Americans today are not financially literate. Even the recent dot.com company failures in the stock market are directly related to the lack of financial literacy of the leaders of these companies. Clearly, financial literacy is the skill that will be most needed in our fast moving and quickly evolving technological world. Yet, if you don't teach financial literacy to your children, no one else will.
So, the question is, "How can I teach my children financial literacy?" First, understand what it takes to be financially free. The secret of the rich is to build businesses and buy real estate. Independent studies of wealth around the world have shown that this formula works everywhere!
How to Get StartedHere are five tax tips parents can use right now in their own business to reduce taxes for themselves and begin their entire family's path to wealth.
- Pay your child age 8 or older a salary. BENEFIT: You move income from your higher tax bracket to them, tax free (if they make less then $4,550) or to their low 10 percent bracket from $4,550 to $10,550 (equals $600 tax on $10,550).