“Working to help parents raise money-smart kids.”
Hello, friends!
It’s Thanksgiving week, and I’m feeling grateful for the many parents and financial experts (And sometimes both!) I’ve been fortunate enough to interview on The Art of Allowance Podcast. 🙏🏻
So for this installment of “3 Ideas to Share & Save,” I’m featuring some insightful guests I haven’t written about recently.
Think of these folks as your Thanksgiving travel companions, as they’ll make good company whether you’re venturing by plane, train or automobile. Heck, they’re even seaworthy! (But let’s leave the Mayflower to the pilgrims, okay?)
So when Thursday comes along, in addition to heaping helpings of turkey, stuffing and cranberries, you can spark a debate about chores and allowance.
What could go wrong? 😉
Enjoy!
— 1 —
“Trae” Smart Shopping: It only seemed sensible to include my conversation with Trae Bodge to prepare us for the shopping tsunami that’s already approaching.
But despite the imminent threat to our wallets, we can help our kids learn something this season:
“Shopping can be very, very instructive for kids. If you don’t show kids how to transact, they don’t understand what […] acquiring goods really means.”
– Trae Bodge
“True Trae” Bodge is a smart shopping expert, and her episode is chock-full of useful pointers you can use to help your family navigate the choppy consumer waters this holiday season. Here are just a few topics Trae and I discuss:
- Smart shopping on Amazon 🛍️
- The wonderful world of secondhand stores ♻️
- Dealing with escalating costs when teens eat out 🍔
You’re welcome!
— 2 —
Dematerialize: Professor Tim Kasser and I have a wide-ranging conversation replete with deep insights and useful tips (Tim’s words, not mine!) to help us deal with the overwhelming materialism that constantly threatens to consume our families.
“In this culture or today, we’re taught over and over that one of the best ways to show that we’re successful, one of the best ways to have a happy, meaningful life, is to make a lot of money and buy a lot of stuff.”
– Tim Kasser
Here are a few highlights for you:
- Teaching children about advertisements 📺
- How materialism and marketing affect our well-being 🤑
- Money empowerment as a way of enacting our values ❤️
Additionally, my conversation with Tim provides some food for thought to help reduce the inevitable increase in your kids’ screen time over the next six weeks or so. And if screen time is a primary concern for your family, then you’ll also enjoy my conversation with Josh Golin.
BTW, the wonderful resource about which Tim and I chat, The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, is now Fairplay, the non-profit organization Josh runs.
— 3 —
Allowances, chores, debates, oh my!: Author, financial journalist, and money expert Cameron Huddleston presents a solid case for how and why you might require your kids to complete chores to earn their allowances.
If you’re a frequent reader of this newsletter, then you probably know I often take the opposite stance (namely, that you shouldn’t tie allowances and chores together). However, I like to give voice to differing opinions so you can decide what approach will work best for your family.
Cameron and I do cover more than just the allowance and chore debate, including:
- Why is money a taboo topic? 🙊
- Saying “no” to your kids in an age-appropriate way 🙅
- Whether or not you should tell your children what you make 💲
Of course, there is one facet of money-smart learning we agree upon wholeheartedly:
“I think it’s okay to let your kids make mistakes because that’s how we learn.”
– Cameron Huddleston
Pair this conversation with my discussion with money researcher Ashley LeBaron about the importance of allowing kids to make low-stakes mistakes via their own experiences, and you’ll be well-informed.
Now dinner is served. 🦃 💰 🥧
And enjoy your journey, wherever it may take you this holiday season.
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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