One thing that traditionally hasn’t been a strong suit in the Black family – and simultaneously, a detriment – is passing down healthy money habits to ensure financial stability for future generations.
In the technology age, however, that is beginning to change as more Black parents are building a foundation for their children to learn financial responsibility at an early age, hoping it’ll drive their decision making in adulthood.
“There is nothing righteous about struggling for your financial security,” Sabrina Lamb, a financial literacy educator, explained in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette. “It is actually a perfect storm of low self-esteem, lack of knowledge and generational conditioning.”
In order to break bad generational habits of spending money, parents must first take an introspective look to see how they’ve been holding up financially – only then can a parent truly impart wisdom on their child about good spending habits.
Here are some tips to start the conversation with your young ones.
Save, save, save!
It’s never too early to show your child the importance of saving money. On birthdays and holidays, for example, teach your child to put at least 30 percent of the cash they received into a piggy bank – or, an actual bank savings account. This will become routine so every time your little one gets some extra cash as a gift, they’ll immediately think to save it.