I hope that you can teach your children proper etiquette, positive values, and a balanced diet. But can you teach them financial security? Can you really know what to say about money to them?
I had the opportunity to sit down recently and interview Mike Zisa. He is now a financial consultant as well as a teacher at Pennsbury High school in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Zisa is the author of The Early Investor: How Teens & Young Adults Will Become Wealthy. We spoke about our community-based children and the value — and the rareness — of high school financial education. Lisa shared the most important lessons for all children of secondary schools to remember when they graduate.
Saving Money Is Not the Same as Spending Money
Use Compound Interest
Start early investment
This is the stage on which Zisa is most adamant. It was his drive to write his book. The quicker you start investing your money, the longer you need to allow the benefits of combining to generate capital over the long term. Consider this: if you begin to spend $3,000 a year at an average growth rate of 6% at age 25, you’re around $680,000 by age 65. If you’re just 35 years of age, you’re worth $260,000. Time has the most important influence on long-term wealth generation. Begin to invest now.
Don’t Buy Stuff That You Can’t Afford
Use Credit Cards Responsibly
- You charge extraordinarily high interest rates if you don’t pay the whole balance
- Don’t buy things with a credit card without the money you have to pay for them.
- Keep in mind introductory interest rates and balancing deals
- Scan the print (the very small print you do not want to read) of the credit card.
- Pay the whole balance by the due date
Purchase Properties Rather Than Obligations
Purchase stuff that makes you money, not stuff that makes you owe money! For example, when you invest in a stock that pays a dividend (a portion of the company’s profits) every three months, you collect cash for not doing anything at all. If you buy a mortgage, every six months you collect interest payments. This is referred to as passive profits. Conversely, if you buy a loan of some kind, you already have accrued debt that you have to pay with interest. Obviously, such loans, such as a mortgage, might be required to buy the first home or even a car loan. But other debt forms will maximize your liability and hamper your wealth-building capability.
Set a Budget to Save a Rainy Day
Zisa obviously assumes that the financial stability journey starts early. As in all aspects, parents should teach their children financial literacy through role models. You will save and save your own children if you live beyond your means and learn the behaviors required to live a less exhausting and rewarding life.