The uncertainty of our global economy can wreak havoc on our mental well-being and our family members. To help avoid this stress, it’s vital to set-up money strategies with your family to ensure financial stress doesn’t trickle down and affect the ones you love.
Here are seven ways I suggest building healthy money and mental habits with your children
Don’t’ Spoil Your kids
It’s’ so easy to spoil your kids, but it could be teaching them the wrong lesson. By giving kids whatever they want it doesn’t teach them self discipline or restraint.
Make sure your kids learn to earn and save for what they want. It’s only then that the lesson of being able to achieve anything will be made.
Stop Expecting Perfection
Now more than ever, with the forces of social media, kids, and parents feel the pressures of being perfect. Setting the bar too high for jobs, grades, or anything can lead to disaster. Ensure that life and money goals are achievable to keep your kids on the right track to financial and life success.
Feel Comfortable with Feeling Uncomfortable
Asking for a raise, saying they don’t have money for something their friends are doing, or interviewing for a job can make kids feel uncomfortable. However, moving through these uncomfortable moments can lead to great success—the success they wouldn’t have had if they avoided the situation altogether. Being able to push through uncomfortable situations is something everyone needs to learn.
Set Parent-Child Boundaries
It’s essential to empower kids to make their own decisions, but you also want to set boundaries. No means no, and parents who cave and buy their kids anything they want often results in a power struggle. It’s important to teach your kids to negotiate but not to cross the parent-child boundaries.
Minimizing Kids Feelings & Fears About the Economy and Pandemic
We are in a deep recession and global pandemic, and it’s important to talk to kids about what is going on, things like– mom and dad are short on money right now, or what is happening to the world outside. If kids are expressing fear or anxiety about the world, it’s important to acknowledge both of your concerns and brainstorm ways to make them feel better. It could be eating out less, helping mom and dad save money, or maybe not making a big purchase.
Let Your Kids Fail Financially
If your kids get a credit card and get into debt – let them deal with paying it off and rebuilding their credit. It can be hard to let your kids fail – but they need to learn from that. If they spend their summer job money before they go back to school – make them take out loans or work to make back the money. These lessons will be crucial as they enter the workforce.
Be an Example
Practice what you preach and make sure you don’t have your kids saving away in an RESP while your RRSP is empty. Be open about financial lessons and be an excellent example for them to live up to.