July 4 - July 17, 2015
SanTan
FAMILY FUN “An award-winning publication”
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The importance of raising financially savvy kids
SanTan Sun News
By Alison Stanton
What’s inside Page 2, 3 SanTan Family Fun Calendar
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Page 5 Where Kids Eat Free
To begin the dialogue, parents should review the household or a pretend budget When children are little, parents often with their kids to help them understand spend time teaching them the names of the concept of wants versus needs, Schelter the different coins and their values. said. To raise financially “We all think savvy kids, parents must we need the newest go beyond these basic phone or a certain lessons and talk to their toy, but what we kids about other monneed for day-to-day ey-related concepts, said life are things like Colleen Cox, senior vice shelter and food,” president of education he said. at Junior Achievement Parents can (JA) of Arizona. show a balanced Every year, Cox said, budget and the imJA of Arizona partportance of saving ners with 36 Chanmoney. dler schools to bring Giving children financial literacy, work an allowance or readiness and entrehelping them manpreneurship programs age monetary gifts to more than 14,600 Colleen Cox, senior vice president of education from relatives can students in kindergarten at Junior Achievement (JA) of Arizona, said it is through 12th grade. important to teach young kids about the concept of help them tackle the concept of “Teaching today’s financial responsibility. Submitted photo budgeting, Schelter youth to be financially said. responsible while they “This teaches them about managing are young prepares them to succeed in the their own money and forces them early real world by giving them the knowledge to learn to make financial decisions on a to make smart, educated financial decismaller scale.” sions,” Cox said. Parents should also teach their kids “It will help them avoid financial pitabout interest, Schelter said, and how it falls like bad credit and bankruptcy, and will impact the amount they pay in a loan. will allow them to own their economic “Even young children can understand success and build a strong financial founthe basic concept of what interest is, and dation to support themselves and their if they pay off a loan faster, they will have families.” less interest to pay.” Jeff Schelter, vice president and senior Credit card debt should be discussed loan officer at Alliance Bank, which with older kids and teens, Schelter said. has branches in Chandler, said because “Parents can explain how credit cards personal finance is typically not taught are definitely one of the most expensive in most schools. Instead, parents need to types of loans, and show their kids how have ongoing discussions with their chilcharging just a dollar on a card with 24 dren about financial literacy. percent interest can add up.” “This topic is so important because it Ryan Rothermund, associate vice preswill impact their kids throughout their ident, investments at Raymond James and entire lives,” he said.
Associates Inc., said a trip to the grocery store is a great place for a lesson about money management. “Take young children to the store with you and explain why you are buying a generic product over a name brand one, and talk about quality and price,” said Rothermund, who works with clients in the East Valley. “Also, instead of using a piggy bank, start a custodial account at a bank and have your kids deposit their money in it.” Making even small deposits regularly will show kids how they can increase their savings over time. “It gets them thinking that there is a process and if they stick with it, their money will grow,” he said. Alison Stanton is a freelance writer who lives in the East Valley. She can be reached at alison@santansun.com.
RESOURCES Websites: Junior Achievement—www.jaaz.org Parents.com—http://bit.ly/1lW8oz3 Wall Street Journal—http://on.wsj. com/1LC6g95 Books: “The Everything Kids’ Money Book: Earn it, save it, and watch it grow!,” by Brette McWhorter Sember “Smart Money Kids,” by Hannah Raybans “Blue Chip Kids: What Every Child (and Parent) Should Know About Money, Investing, and the Stock Market,” by David W. Bianchi