Money management strategy #1: Get Your Own Finances Under Control! There is no way you will talk Junior out of bad money management habits if you are eyeball deep in debt and you spend more than you earn.
There are a million wonderful books on personal finance. If you need help getting out of debt, call a nonprofit, debt counseling organization. Start building your retirement fund (no, it is not too late to start!) or college fund for your children. Put ten percent of your income away as savings to build a safety net. Even if it seems there is no solution in sight, you must at least head down that road. Your children will notice.
Money management strategy
Now, we all know that dividing one household into two is an expensive proposition. There will be an adjustment period. The point is that you should show your children that money management is critical by doing it, not just by saying it. Your financial
house does not have to be in perfect order to influence your children in the right direction. They will learn lessons watching your struggle. You can ensure that they learn the right lessons by taking charge of your financial affairs.
One last point on this subject: please do not allow out of control spending or large consumer debt to wreck havoc on your self-esteem. You are not a bad person because you are in debt. You are not a bad person because you like to buy shoes. You are not a bad person because you don’t have any savings.
There is a reason that money can divide families:
Handling money may seem commonplace, but it is overwhelmingly charged with emotion. The way we handle money is not an isolated event. It comes from years of “training” from our parents and family, from society and from within, much of which we may not even be aware. With perhaps the exception of work, there is little I can think of that has such a profound effect on our daily lives.
The upside to all of this is that money can positively impact your self-esteem as well. Remember that there is no “right” or “wrong” to how you spend, save or invest your money. It is a personal choice that, when done consciencelessly, reflects your own values. If you feel bad or guilty after a shopping spree or because you are hiding from your landlord around the first of every month, just think how good you will feel when your bills are paid and you have money in the bank. It is that feeling that we are trying to pass on to our children, and it can only come from being in control of our finances.
