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Are there money lessons you wish you knew sooner?

Posted by Nancy Phillips on Mon, Aug 16, 2010
  
  
  
  
  
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Have you ever thought to yourself "I wish I had known this when I was younger so I wasn't in this situation now?" I know I have.

Wouldn't it be nice to help today's children learn some of those lessons without them having to go through all the things we went through?

For my next book, I would really like to hear from you so we can draw on the experience of today's adults in order to help this generation of children and teens.

"What is the one money lesson you wish you knew when you were younger?"

Financial literacy is a critical life skill that is still not being taught in the school curriculum. Learning responsible financial decision making is essential for a young person to become a financially independent adult and it's important for not only their future well being but the well being of our society.

I look forward to hearing your feedback.

 

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Comments

Wish I learned what were some good ways to save money for furture use in your 20's and 30's? Not saving for retirement, but for like after college. 
 
Getting that birthday money and spending it right away definitely was not the right strategy. Having a few hundred or thousand dollars saved would have been awesome! 
 
Mark 
Posted @ Monday, August 16, 2010 9:26 AM by Mark Kilens
I'll echo Mark's comment - one lesson I wish I had learned earlier would be saving for your lifetime. 
 
Another lesson would probably be the difference between "want" and "need" - my "wants" seem to have filled up an entire room in my house with stuff I don't touch anymore.
Posted @ Monday, August 16, 2010 9:48 AM by Chris Haddad
Money lessons came to me at an early age. The daughter of a CFO, my Dad got me quick-books when I was 13. However, that wasn’t the case for many of my friends. The best lesson he taught me was the power of starting early. When it comes to building your funds for retirement, you can’t get the years back. Here is a cool calculator that shows you the impact of contributing to your savings at an early age: http://www3.prudential.com/signature/calc-retirement-savings.html
Posted @ Monday, August 16, 2010 9:52 AM by Kimberly
My parents gave me the ok to get my first credit card when I was 16. Of course I didn't have much more of a limit then to buy gas weekly each month, but that wasn't the point. When I went to get my first apartment at the age of 22 they were blown away by my credit score 700+. Same thing when I went to buy my first house at 25. So even now after having a consistent card for 13 years I have a huge leg up on the rest of the market in the credit rating. Teaching kids early to respect and manage credit card debt on a monthly basis is not only really smart, but it helps them in many ways throughout life.
Posted @ Monday, August 16, 2010 10:00 AM by Kyle James
I was always told "Max our your 401k"...but I would have loved some better advice about short term savings for goals (buying a house, car, etc) and also padding for life (being in weddings, travel to see family and friends)...life is expensive, I had no idea how costly these things were when I was younger!
Posted @ Monday, August 16, 2010 10:12 AM by Julie Devaney
Echo & add to @kyle james 
 
My dad let me get a checking account at 13 and I had to manage some of the household finances since my mother passed and dad travelled a lot. Then when it came time to get a credit card - he explained that I should use it only as a more convenient form of checking/cash NOT credit. If you don't have the money to pay for it, don't charge it. Period. That lesson stuck and I've never accumulated any debt other than student loans and my first two homes ... the 'good kind' of debt (aka some element of equity or investment in your growth). 
 
Treat credit cards like plastic cash. Maybe today's kids should just start with debit cards only and they'll learn the same thing along the way ...
Posted @ Monday, August 16, 2010 10:56 AM by Kirsten Knipp
"Don't spend money you don't have, don't live outside your means, and SAVE for emergencies." What if your car breaks down and you can't afford to fix it because you bought new iTunes, clothes, candy, etc.? 
 
Posted @ Monday, August 16, 2010 5:43 PM by Mav
@Mark - excellent point. This is where the value of allocating funds into Giving, Investing, Saving and Spending from a young age can really make a difference down the road.
Posted @ Monday, August 16, 2010 11:45 PM by Nancy Phillips
@Chris - how true Chris!! "Wants" are so often shortlived. This is exactly why it's great for children to learn this type of lesson when they're young.
Posted @ Monday, August 16, 2010 11:49 PM by Nancy Phillips
@Kimberly - it's great to hear your dad got you started early Kimberly, it is so valuable to have time on your side. 
 
Thank you for the calculator link, it's critical to have a plan you can visualize.
Posted @ Tuesday, August 17, 2010 12:13 AM by Nancy Phillips
@Kyle 
 
Wow Kyle, you had great self discipline as a teenager, what a story! Many credit card stories regarding teenagers don't have such a happy ending. You have proven they can be used wisely.
Posted @ Tuesday, August 17, 2010 12:17 AM by Nancy Phillips
@Julie - so true Julie, life has many unexpected expenses so emergency funds as well as specific savings goals are worth knowing about early on. Letting kids in on some of life's "costs" helps them prepare. Thank you for the insightful comments.
Posted @ Tuesday, August 17, 2010 12:21 AM by Nancy Phillips
@Kirsten - your story shows yet again the importance of parents teaching their children how to make wise decisions early on, it really since that sets the stage. Thank you for sharing Kirsten.
Posted @ Tuesday, August 17, 2010 12:24 AM by Nancy Phillips
@May - Great points May!
Posted @ Tuesday, August 17, 2010 12:27 AM by Nancy Phillips
Wish I had of learned when I was young that the path to financial freedom was to own your own business where as others are selling your product, you make a piece of every sale. This way you're personally not limited by the number of hours in the day.
Posted @ Wednesday, August 18, 2010 11:11 PM by Lindsay
I was I would of known how important credit really was. When I was in the Air Force I really got into a mess with credit cards and loans. I learned that being debt free is the only way to go!
Posted @ Tuesday, September 28, 2010 2:11 PM by Bennett Watson
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