Teaching Kids The ABC’s OF
MONEY

“My nine-year-old is a saver, and the other day I was so low on funds that I had to borrow five hundred dollars from him,” reflects Tony, a doting father. “Feeling guilty about borrowing his money, I suggested to him that I would pay him back with interest. I offered to put an extra one hundred dollars when I returned the sum. At the time, my son did not have a clue what interest was. Intrigued, he agreed. But I wonder if I did the right thing, because now I can’t borrow anything from him without at least twenty-fi ve percent interest added on!” A child may start learning to save in a piggy bank, but perhaps the best thing to do to encourage a child to keep saving is to take him or her with you to open a savings account.

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“The single biggest difference between financial success and financial failure is how well you manage your money. Wealthy people are not necessarily smarter than poor people; they just have different and more effective money habits,” writes bestselling author T. Harv Eker in his absorbing 2005 book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (HarperBusiness). Do you agree with him? Most people would. It’s a plain, common-sense assertion. So, next question: Are you on the road to wealth? Are your money habits supporting your vision of fi nancial success, or are they taking you down the path to fi nancial ruin? Whatever your response, here’s how to either get on track or accelerate your progress to fi nancial success for 2010 and beyond: