The Real Estate Investing Journey

Unfortunately, our school system fails to teach us about money which is a big reason why alot of us are having problems with finances now. You as a parent will need to take the initiative and teach your kids healthy attitudes and views on money so they will have a solid foundation of knowledge to build on when they are out on their own.

Our kids are now at the age where they are first starting to get interested in money and buying things. We have decided to not give them an allowance, but rather have them come to us when they are ready to earn money and do some chores over and above their normal chores (like cleaning their room) to earn money. We also have them look in this book: Fifty Money-Making Ideas for Kids for ideas on ways to earn money if they run out of chores to do. We are trying to foster an entrepreneurial spirit in them at the beginning.

They love to play board games as family time - so we sometimes use that time to reinforce investing lessons and smart spending lessons at the same time we're having fun. It's sort of a back-door way of teaching that is very effective because their 'guard' is down :) Our favorite game to do this is the Robert Kiyosaki Cashflow game: Cashflow for Kids. Monopoly and the Kid's version of Monopoly are always great too.

15 Ways to Teach Kids About Money also has some good advice, especially how to communicate some of the basic issues of value, accounting and responsible spending.

For some good reading on the subject: Rich Dad's Rich Kid, Smart Kid: Giving Your Children a Financial Headstart is a good reference and guide on instructing your kids. Also, at Rich Kid Smart Kid they have 'homeschool' curriculum to download in guiding you in preparing lesson plans for a more formal classroom type environment.

"If I only knew then what I know now" is not what we want our kids to have to say, so take responsibility for their education and start now, no matter how old they are.

Speaking of games, I just wanted to add: for those of you who want to teach your kids how to play chess and are having problems, No Stress Chess is an excellent game. You draw cards that tell you which piece to move and how it moves. This takes the strategy element out of the game and allows your young kids to focus on the mechanics of the game. After the mechanics are down, you can go 'without cards'.