If you give your children an allowance, they will
become more self-reliant and responsible …and
develop some simple, powerful money habits.

The topic of “Allowances” mostly causes some debate with parents and their children. (Probably not as much the “Bailout” one in Congress and ‘Main Street’, thank goodness)

Anyway, allowances can either a good thing or a bad thing. It all depends on how you, the parent, use it…and what experiences your child has with their allowances.

Here’s what I invite you to do:

• Give your kids an allowance where they are learning to save, invest, donate and spend wisely the amount they have been given.
• Let them make mistakes with a small amount…it is far better than making a huge mistake later in life which could have serious consequences.

The final vital step is in this sequence of posts relates to Financial Intelligence.

When you reveal to and grow in your child the missing
intelligence that is NOT taught at school -
Financial Intelligence -
then they won’t struggle as much throughout their life.

Let me ask you this question…

Did you study a subject at school called “Wealth 101″?

I certainly didn’t. In many of our schools today, such an important life skill is still not available to our kids. Now, some schools will say that there is an ‘economics’ subject. This is true.

Do all kids study it? I don’t think so, do you?

It is up to us as parents to show them how.

Here’s what I invite you to do:

Involve your children in how to save, to pay themselves first, to invest (short and long term; why not  introduce them to the magic of compounding), to donate and to spend wisely.

In a later post I will expand on both of these valuable and life-changing steps.

Let’s Talk

OK, this is where I invite you to comment, to add what you think about the points raised in this post.

I’d love to hear what you do to deal with these vital topics?

What’s worked for you? Do you use any particular techniques? What’s the hardest part about raising a child to be happy and successful? What are you most concerned about?

To raise a smart rich kid, you absolutely have to watch what you DO with money, what you SAY about money and from the EXPERIENCES you’re providing your children with regard to money.

This post is the fourth tip in ” Vital Steps To Raise  A Smart Rich Kid”. Previously I covered, Don’t Use This Vital Step, Oh NO! I Didn’t Say Or Do That! and Develop Your Child’s Belief System,

Have you put them into action?  Did you make a comment or share them with someone else? They are useful, aren’t they?

So, firstly, let’s now look at the value of playing financial board games

When you and your family do this, then you will be teaching your kids valuable skills. AND..they will be having fun as well.

Did you play board games when you were a child? I certainly did…and I also managed to have the odd ‘fight’ or two with my brothers as well. Now that’s another story!

Anyway, games are fun; they teach all of us vital human interaction skills; you get powerful feedback and this leads to self discovery; games encourage risk taking and we can definitely learn valuable financial skills.

OK, this is where I invite you to do something

Start playing financial board games – play them often…and you can find the time, can’t you?

Secondly, Mentors

When You Find Mentors For Your Children, You Lessen Their Daily Challenges and Frustrations!

For me, mentors have been truly helpful in taking me from where I am to where I want to go….in such a short period of time…

And…whenever I want to achieve something in business or in my personal life…whatever….one of the first things I do is seek out a mentor who has already achieved it ….and…someone who knows how to help others to achieve that as well.

You may be wondering, “Where and how can I get started?” By the way, it’s a good thing to wonder, because that means that you are already in front of me.

• Read books about people
• Listen to audio program
• Watch DVDs and relevant TV programs - biographical ones

Let’s Talk…

I would live to hear your thoughts on these topics.

What financial games do you play with your family? How often? Do your kids have mentors? Who are they? Why did you or they choose that mentor?

Just leave a comment and let others know what you do.