Teach kids good money habits
I IH HATE to break this to you, but bu 36 per cent of your friends fr are financial train wrecks. w Well, statistically anyway. ANZ released its Financial W Wellbeing Report last week, an and it showed that more than a third of us Aussies have ei either got our arse out of our st strides (13 per cent) or are “y “yeah, nah” when it comes to m money (23 per cent). Pretty depressing, right? That means seven million Aussies are effectively providing financial target practice for the credit cartel — such as Nimble, the ironic hipster-bunny. (The only ironic thing about Nimble is that it chose an apt mascot: vermin).
Yet if there’s one thing these studies show, it’s that history repeats.
A 2003 study by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission found the most financially illiterate people were recent school leavers, aged 18-24.
A quick count on all my fingers and toes shows these financial numbskulls are now aged 33-39. Strewth ... that’s us! We’ve got kids of our own. And even though we’ve graduated from goon to grigio, many of us are no smarter about money than we were 15 years ago.
So what can we parents do to stop the cycle repeating, so our kids don’t end up taking our turn in the line? Actually, quite a lot. In fact, I’m writing a book about it.
The ANZ research found there were two critical factors for financial wellbeing: self-belief and having the confidence to make everyday financial decisions.
That means one of your most important jobs as a parent is to build your kids’ financial confidence.
Schools won’t teach it and the CBA Dollarmites program is a manipulative marketing trap. You need to do it. So, over the dinner table with your kids, let them watch you make some smart money decisions, such as cutting up credit cards, saving money, and opening zero-fee bank accounts.
Who knows, it may just boost your confidence too.