Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak at our District’s Student Success Conference on the topic of ‘Turn Your Money Mess into Your Money Message’.
It might surprise some, but for a long time I saw myself as not good with money and not the money type. So, sometimes it even surprises me that I’m now a Financial Educator. But then again, the journey that I took is part of the reason that I’m passionate about Financial Education.
It’s because I know what it’s like to struggle with money, not only the money issues but the emotions and the stress. I remember times when I despaired because I thought things would never get better.
I can also look back and see how my fear of making a mistake led to making some of the biggest mistakes of all (out of not taking action for fear of making a mistake).
And then I’ve also experienced changes in my outlook and my confidence as I started to save, as I set money goals and achieved them. And I also came to see that money gives us options, and I think that’s what most of us really want, not pieces of green paper or more digits in our bank accounts. When we want money we want what we think it will bring us.
I now find it ‘interesting’ for lack of a better word, that anyone (including my past self) would think in terms of some people as ‘not the money type’ – what does that even mean? After all, each of us earns money which we use to acquire things that we want and need in our lives – people aren’t excused from financial activities because they’re ‘not the money type’.
As I see it now, someone might say, I’m not the car type – and that’s fine, you don’t have to be into knowing all the different makes and models or know how to rebuild engines or even change the oil, but if you’re going to drive a car, you need to know the rules of the road – heck, even pedestrians need to know the rules of the road.
To go out without knowing the rules of the road would lead to some serious consequences and in a similar way, heading into adulthood without knowing the financial rules of the road will likely lead to serious consequences, and yet, most of us aren’t taught about money.
Instead of receiving financial education before we’re faced with financial decisions we each learn through trial and error and as a result some of us have made money mistakes that will take years to resolve. Compare this to the opportunity that each of us could have had when we started out. We deserved better and our kids deserve better, too.
While we did deserve better it’s not our parents fault, after all, they couldn’t give us what they themselves had not received. This is why I see financial education as one of the keys to breaking generational legacies.
But since each generation tries to do better and pass on something better to their kids we should each embrace and advocate for financial literacy.
You may feel that you don’t know enough to teach your kids about money. In that case, learn – read a book or subscribe to a podcast or YouTube channel or blog and learn a little at a time. As you learn, share what you’re learning and let your kids see you engaging in financial education – when they see you learning about money they’ll be more likely to want to do the same. Plus, seeing you learning about money normalizes that for them.
And it’s okay to feel uncomfortable especially if you were taught that it’s not polite to talk about money – but don’t give into it. Instead, remember that the first time will be the hardest, after that each time will be a little easier (embrace the idea of doing the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable). Remember why it’s important to share this with your kids and that will likely help you to push yourself past any initial discomfort.
Lastly, you can find resources that you can enjoy together and that may spark a conversation on its own.
Here are a couple of resources to get you started:
Zogo is an app that gamifies financial education and you can earn gift cards by playing and referring others. Download the app from your app store or learn more at Zogofinance.com
EasyPeasyFinance.com is personal finance by 11 year old Rishi Vamdatt who breaks down personal finance topics into short understandable segments for kids and beginners.
Two Cents provides fantastic videos on money topics and really make it lighthearted and easy to follow.
Have you talked with your kids about money? Are you advocating for financial education? If so, let me know how it’s going.