“Like most of life’s important lessons, financial literacy begins at home.”
Frederick P. Gabriel Jr., editor of InvestmentNews, September 9, 2012, Help your clients’ kids avoid maxing out
In a recent article, Gabriel explains how he learned some financial lessons the hard way:
“I will be the first to admit that I knew nothing about handling money when I left my parents’ home for college. I left home not knowing how to balance a checkbook, invest in a stock or mutual fund, or manage debt. One of my biggest errors — and the one with the most serious consequences — involved overusing credit cards. I soon found myself with more than $3,000 of credit card debt. Though that may seem small by today’s standards — the average credit card debt per household with such debt is nearly $16,000 — it amounted to more than a year’s tuition at the public college I attended. … As it turns out, my experience was not uncommon.”
The Takeaway: Take time to talk to your kids about saving, spending and debt, and most importantly, show through example that good money habits pay off.
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