Reddit reviews The Presents' Presents with CD

Here are a few tips, some of which I use with my own kids, some of which my parents used for me and my wife's parents use for her:

A. Whenever possible, take the kids shopping with you. Sure the kids might be asking for you to buy stuff constantly, but that's the perfect opportunity to teach. Make every shopping trip a real learning experience. Teach them the difference between wants and needs. Compare prices of different brands and different types of foods. Explain how credit cards work, and how some people pay them off every month, and some people spend a lot extra! Explain how some people forego the luxuries today, so they save, invest, and retire early; and also how some choose to spend every sent their earn, ensuring they'll never have any savings for the future.

B. Have you heard of Robert Kiyosaki's Cash Flow 101 board game? It's a fun and really effective way to learn about buying and selling real estate, playing stocks, luxury expenses, the difference between assets and liabilities, borrowing to invest, etc. Tons of really important stuff. My son, who's 10 now, learned to play it last year, and he loves it. That said, it might be too complicated for some kids. And for that reason, Kiyosaki also created a Cash Flow for Kids board game, which we've also tried. My son prefers the adult version, so YMMV.

C. Wallets/Jars: My wife and I took a financial seminar which taught us to divide up our earnings (after expenses) into 6 jars or wallets: necessary expenses (50%), fun/play (10%), education (10%), plan/long-term savings (10%), freedom/wealth (10%), and angel/give (10%). Here's a very brief description of the wallets:

1. Necessary expenses: Your fixed expenses, month to month
   
2. Fun: Anything you buy spontaneously or for fun / recreation -- must be spent every month
   
3. Education: Any courses, training material, etc., to learn more (personal development, professional development, financial IQ, etc.)
   
4. Plan: Long term savings (e.g. down payment on house, vehicle, vacation) -- also used as a rainy-day fund
   
5. Freedom: Can only be used for buying appreciating or cash-flowing assets
   
6. Angel: charitable donations, birthday gifts, etc.
   
   For younger kids, you can simplify this into fewer wallets and not have your kids worry about expenses.
   
   This system teaches the kids saving strategies, the difference between luxury items and necessities, assets vs. liabilities, delayed gratification, the fun aspect of money, charity, and much more. It's a brilliant system.
   
   My kids are co-investors in their own businesses now (paper route, and a toy rental company), and any money that comes in (after expenses) is divided up into the different wallets. They save for their own big gifts now (learning delayed gratification and gaining a sense of accomplishment.) They buy presents for their friends birthdays. And they re-invest in their rental business through asset acquisition using their freedom account (learning entrepreneurialism and long-term wealth building).
   
   D. We're also teaching the kids about the big business quadrant (from Kiyosaki) -- instead of delivering their own papers on the paper route, they hire kids in the neighborhood to do it for them, and act as the manager.
   
   E. Another strategy my wife's parents used with her was to allow the kids to handle ALL of their yearly expenses. When you think your kids are ready, give them a large chunk of money in August, before school starts, and explain to them that they will need to budget for the entire year for all of their expenses: luxury and necessities. If they wear out their clothes too fast, they will need to buy themselves new ones. This will make them think twice before wearing holes through the knees in all their pants. If the spend all their fun money at the start of the year, they'll find out that by the end of the year that they should have budgeted better: e.g. when everyone else gets to go bowling and to the movies, but they have to stay at home because they blew all their fun money early, there will be a priceless lesson they'll never forget.
   
   F. There's an amazing book about the ridiculousness of materialism and greed called "The Present's Presents". Highly recommended: http://www.amazon.com/The-Presents-CD-Teresa-Grosbois/dp/1926643062
   
   G. Call around and ask some banks if they have special checking or savings accounts for kids. Often they will get them set up and make a decent sized initial deposit for free.
   
   H. I also don't believe in giving an allowance. I don't believe giving kids money for just existing, or for doing chores they will need to be doing on their own in the future teaches them anything useful. I'm teaching my kids to go out and find ways to earn money to get the things they want, and that chores are a part of life, wherever they live. This is teaching them to be a contribution to the household, self-sufficiency, independence, and entrepreneuralism.
   
   Hope that helps! I'd be happy to answer questions.