Debt Discipline

Hey y’all! I’m Hannah Rounds, a writer and occasional blogger (UnplannedFinance.com is my site).

My husband and I have two kids, Kenny age 4 and Shirley age 2.

For Rob and I, the early years of our children’s life have mostly consisted of keeping kids fed and dress and trying to keep them from injuring themselves or others. Most of our “life lessons” are about using kind words and (unsuccessfully) teaching kids to practice self-control.

While the “just survive” mentality of early babyhood has come and gone, I would be lying to say that we have the time or energy for tons of intentional parenting. That said, we are willing to slightly inconvenience ourselves to teach our children financial literacy. These are three lessons we’re trying to teach our little kids about money. As our kids grow, we hope that these lessons will build in nuance, so our kids leave the house with a solid understanding of the role and value of money in their lives.

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As part of Financial Literacy Month (#FLM2018), I’m featuring guest posts and interviews on the topic all month-long. Please welcome Laurie, formerly of The Frugal Farmer.

One of the most common complaints I hear when I talk about teaching kids good money management skills is this:

“How can I teach my kids to manage money well when I don’t even have my own financial crap together?”

This is a valid question. Kids tend to learn via watching your examples, and “Do as I say, not as I do” generally isn’t a very effective method of teaching children.

In fact, in my experience, it’s quite common for kids to have an “If mom or dad did it, it’s okay for me to do it” attitude.

So how can those of you who are struggling to overcome your own money management faults teach your kids to do better with their own money? Let me share my own experience in this arena.

When we first started our financial journey to get out of debt, we had over $60,000 in consumer debt and a bloated mortgage. Our situation was so bad that we were in the hole between $1,000 and $1,500 every single month.

Yet all four of our kids are turning out to be very financially responsible. They’re good savers, and they weigh purchases carefully before spending.

Check out the tips we used to teach them financial responsibility in the midst of our fiscal irresponsibility.

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