Financial Education is a very important issue. Everyday your kids can see that so magic plastic that you use when paying for the things you buy. They certainly might not know what all those APRs are or the fact that their parents work 5 days a week in order to pay the credit bills, but they sure have an idea that such cool thingy as a plastic dies exist!
I believe that financial education is better to be started when the kids are young. It is useful for children to understand the value of money and the earlier the better. Largely, their financial life will depend on the financial education they received before.
Personally I have got 2 kids. Jane is 15 years old, and Andrew just 5. I have decided that it is essential for my kids to know about credit cards as much as possible. Certainly, it is hard to explain all the financial aspects to little Andrew. So, I try to make it fun for him, kind of a gamy approach. I usually take him with me when I go shopping.
We examine the price, and I try to explain which prices are the best. When we stop by the cash register I explain that now the money that we are going to spend will be counted.
What I try to do is to explain that it is essential to buy the necessary things but not all the things that we want. I sincerely want my little boy to have a distinct idea about how credit cards work so that he will have a good credit history. It is vital to learn not to make the financial mistakes that can ruin one's life.
Jane is almost 16. She is planning to go to the University someday. It is just a must to tell her about credit cards as many facts as possible so that when she gets her first student credit card this she would manage it wisely. It is a well-known fact that students way too often get in trouble when they simply abuse their plastics in order to impress the friends. Jane knows the credit cards basics. She is aware of not making only minimum payments as this may damage the credit history and lead to bad credit history.
Moreover, Jane is authorized to use my card. My daughter learns to be responsible. Now she clearly understands that my credit history and credit score depend largely on the way she uses the money as well.
It seems to me that it is important that parents educate their kids in the financial questions, especially those connected with credit cards management. Nowadays every American family has got about $10 000 in credit debt. I don't want my kids to be burdened with debt. I am sure that you have got the same wishes. The best time to start helping your kids is when they are young.
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