“Working to help parents raise money-smart kids.”
I hope you’re having a wonderful Money-Smart Monday.
I have some good stuff to share with you in this week’s installment of 3 Ideas to Share and Save.
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Money Smarts with Butter Flavor: I was fortunate to converse with Popcorn Finance creator Chris Browning on my podcast recently. We chatted about embracing passive, “boring” investing; the importance of patience; and how Chris’ mom tricked him into getting into finance. It’s a good story and worth a listen in my admittedly biased opinion.
During our discussion I mentioned that I’d been a guest on his show, and he recently republished that conversation. I love the Popcorn Finance format because it’s short and simple. Each episode takes place “in the time it takes to make a bag of popcorn” and is packed with value. I think you’ll enjoy the chat I had with Chris about raising money-smart kids.
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Your Brain on Money: Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money is an excellent book. It is short (Thank you, Morgan!) and contains terrific stories that do a really nice job of helping us understand how money affects our brains. Importantly, Housel describes how we can overcome the limitations of our gray matter in ways that are useful, simple and practical.
In the 20th and final chapter, Housel tells us how he invests his own money, including doing things that many pundits would not recommend. For example, he paid for his house in cash. However, Housel acknowledges that in our current environment where the cost of money (interest) is close to or lower than the increase in cost of goods (inflation), even he might not advise locking up your cash in such fashion.
Housel takes this approach because he sleeps better at night knowing he has no debt. This underscores a theme I’ve written about recently and which runs through The Art of Allowance. Psychologist Brad Klontz even mentioned it in our podcast discussion: We should take all personal advice with a grain of salt. This is true of money advice too because it’s your head that hits the pillow every night. If a particular decision helps you sleep better, then you might want to challenge orthodoxy.
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Sharp Young Writer: I spoke with Sophia Surrett, a sharp young writer, about raising money-smart kids. The resulting article, “4 Easy Ways To Teach Your Kids To Be Smart With Money This Summer (And Always!),” was published on Jean Chatzky’s HerMoney site. Here’s a graphic snippet from our conversation. Feel free to share ????:
Sophia’s article also features useful ideas beyond what we discussed, including the value of entrepreneurial learning, the benefit of avoiding vacation souvenir shopping madness and the importance of engaging your kids early and often when it comes to money.
I hope this week’s 3 Ideas to Share and Save were of merit. As always, make sure you take time to savor the journey you’re on with your kids.
Until next week, thanks for reading.
John, Chief Mammal
P.S. Please consult with a financial or investment professional before engaging in any decisions that might affect your own financial well-being.
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