Financial Literacy Starts at Home

Financial literacy starts at home. Here are two of my children with one of their favorite books we've been reading. As a parent, one of my goals has been to teach my kids about society, economics and how to be good stewards of the earth. These can be complicated topics to discuss with young children and they don't hold back on the tough questions, but I love to see their little minds think through complex concepts with no preconceptions or jaded ideas.

Nearly 1 in 3 parents don't talk about money with their children and 43% of adults in the U.S. are not financially literate (CNBC). Money isn't everything, but you can't argue that it plays a fundamental role in every aspect of our society. In my time volunteering with Junior Achievement, I have found that children often have a negative connotation with money. It is easy to develop a negative connotation with the subject when you hear parents worrying about finances or constantly receive the response that something you want costs too much money without additional context.

I decided that I would provide a foundation for financial education for my children and dive deeper into the "why" and "how" behind money and economics. We all want our children to live confident and happy lives, and life can be challenging enough without having to constantly worry about finances. I love seeing the expansion of financial education initiatives across the country, but the reality is that we still have a long way to go and this is a topic that is too important to leave up to one class in high school.

If you're looking for a way to get started or continue talking about economics and finances with your children, I highly recommend this book as a great start. You'll be surprised how quickly your children catch on to economic concepts and each topic sparks a great conversation. It turns out that learning about money and economics can be fun! The lessons are well explained and include colorful pictures to keep children's attention. Dad enjoys reading it too.

Full disclosure that this post comes from the uncle who gives "The Automatic Millionaire" book as a graduation present. :)

Let's give the next generation their best chance to a confident financial future.

You can order the book at your favorite bookstore or on our family's Amazon affiliate page: https://amzn.to/3gYs3S4

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