“Working to help parents raise money-smart kids.”
Hello, friends!
In keeping with the theme of my controlled consumption essay below, I’m going to take a more minimal approach to this week’s newsletter.
I hope you enjoy it!
— 1 —
S.M.A.R.T. Goals: I love when kids learn a money-smart skill that, in turn, becomes an invaluable life-smart skill. Goal setting (in particular, establishing S.M.A.R.T. goals) is one such ability. You can read all about how to teach your kids to save for S.M.A.R.T. goals in this essay.
And to get the saving started, here’s a link to our handy-dandy S.M.A.R.T. Goal Label Generator to use with your kids.
— 2 —
You Don’t Need a Budget: It’s time for the non-budgeters of the world to unite and to tell the Budget Mafia to put down their weapons.
And it turns out we non-budgeters are in good company. None other than David Bach, author of The Automatic Millionaire, tells us, “What budgeting boils down to is depriving yourself for the sake of your future well-being.” He continues, “[Budgeting] is certainly a responsible idea, but as a strategy, it goes against human nature.”
As I’m sure you know, it’s tough to go against human nature.
So good for you if you budget. However, the vast majority of people do not, including some very money-smart folks.
In fact, I believe teaching budgeting as a bedrock of financial literacy may be scaring off more people than it helps.
For more on the budgeting bungle, read my full essay here.
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Controlling Consumption: We live in a consumer society in which spending can feel like a competitive sport.
As parents, we want to help our kids make it out of the arena. Namely, we want to help them discover the right amount of controlled consumption.
In this essay, I introduce the idea of the controlled consumption slider. My suggestions are to show your kids this graphic and to start a conversation by asking them for one idea of how they can move the slider to the left.
What’s more, this infographic from our Adolescent$ program contains some good questions your kids can ask themselves before they purchase items they want.
I hope you find some use for this week’s three ideas. If so, then please share this newsletter with one friend you think might also benefit. I’d really appreciate it.
Until next week, enjoy the journey!
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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