The Greatest Gift

Growing up, I was never taught anything about money or finances. It wasn't a subject taught in school, and my dad didn't teach me anything either. I don't blame my dad, though. He was never taught anything about money but learned on his own - and quite well, I might add. I imagine he thought I would learn on my own as well...but I didn't.

In fact, I didn't start getting my financial shit together until my mid-thirties. Even then, it took me another good decade to streamline and shape it into what it is today. As an adult, I've spent way more years living on or near the poverty line than not. This wasn't lost on me as my oldest child grew up and moved out on his own. Since I didn't have the means to financially help him, I knew that I could pass on my financial knowledge instead.

I sat him down several months ago and said, "Look, I want to talk to you and I want you to really listen to me. If someone had done for me what I'm going to do for you thirty years ago, I would have retired at forty-five a millionaire." Throughout that conversation, I espoused many of the same bits of money wisdom I've talked about here. 

I explained how to start putting money into an S&P 500 Index fund consistently and a high-yield savings account. We talked about how it didn't have to be much, in fact, I recommended a mere $5/week in the savings and $20/week in the index fund. He was sure he could do more, but I reminded him to start out small. This was money he could live without, wouldn't be missed, and wouldn't cause a problem when times were leaner. I reminded him that if he had extra money at the end of the month, he could add more. 

He took my advice and we worked together to set up those accounts. I also explained budgeting, how little expenses here and there can add up quickly, and many other things.

Every few months, he'll excitedly send me a text with a screenshot of his index fund and it always puts a smile on my face. He's well on his way to building a secure future.

For the kids whose parents can hand them everything in life, well, that's great. I prefer to arm my kids with the knowledge to build it for themselves. After all, handing someone money isn't knowledge, it's enabling.

The greatest gift you can give your kids is the gift of financial security.