Guest Post: A Name for Every Dollar by Angie Mohr

by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

Angie Mohr, author of "Piggy Banks to Paychecks" is doing a blog tour this month and we're happy to host a guest post from her that all parents can benefit from. Her book is all about teaching kids to be financially savvy. We're number 3 on her guest post tour. Enjoy!

A Name for Every Dollar
Piggy Banks to Paychecks, Angie Mohr (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2012)

Life Successfully has graciously asked me to guest post today as part of my March Piggy Banks to Paychecks blog tour. Thanks, Lyn!

A Name for Every Dollar
A frequent complaint I’ve heard from clients is that they simply don’t know where their money goes.  They may start off the week with two twenty dollar bills in their wallet and, by the end of the week, it has transformed into a two quarters, a few nickels, and a rumpled dollar bill.  When you don’t have a plan for your cash, it has a habit of draining away without you being fully aware of it.

One of the most basic money traits your children will see is how you treat cash.  If your child wants a treat in the store, do you rummage around in your purse to see if you have enough spare change?  Is how much money you have on hand the deciding factor for you as to whether you will make a purchase or not?  If the answer is yes, it means that you don’t name each dollar, i.e., you don’t have a specific purpose for all of your income.

The most important financial skill your child will learn from you is planning.  Before money comes in the house, you should already know where it’s going, either to budgeted spending, savings, or debt repayment.  That doesn’t mean that you can’t buy treats for the kids in the grocery store.  It just means that those treats should already be part of the budget.

Your children watch you more frequently than you are aware of.  Regardless of what you tell them about money, they will put more stock into how they see you handle it in real life.  Make sure you’re not giving them the message “Do as I say, not as I do”.  If you want them to be financially responsible, you must be their main role model.

© Angie Mohr 2012