How To Create Financial Legacies for Your Children

I once heard it said that in Japan, when a child is born, an account is started for that child’s grandchild. This is a stark contrast to what we do in America. Our national savings rate is only 6.4 percent and many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, buying on credit and robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Last night as part of the Millionaire Journey show, Lisa Maria Carroll and myself discussed how parents can create and leave financial legacies for their children. As many parents prepare to send their children back to school in the next few weeks, this is a great time to begin to talk to your kids about finances or to begin to prepare them for financial literacy. You don’t have to be a genius to teach your children about finances nor do your children need to be teens in order to understand money. You can begin teaching your kids about money as early as preschool. This includes everything from teaching them the value of different currencies, to taking them to the grocery store with you to compare.

The truth is by the time your child leaves your home at 18, many experts believe they should know the following money skills:

Here are some things you can do to begin to teach your kids about finances:

• Learn how to budget
• Make and deal with spending decisions
• Understand rewards of work
• Delay gratification


1. Start early. You can begin teaching your kids about money as early as preschool. This includes everything from teaching them the value of different currencies to helping them understand people have jobs that pay them money.

2. Budgeting. Include kids in on your budgeting decision. Everything is a teachable moment about budgeting. With school starting back this is a great opportunity to help them create a budget for back to school clothes or extracurricular activities. Include field trips in the cost of your budget as well. It’s also a great opportunity to help them understand their money (or at least yours) will go farther if they take their lunch.

3. Teach them to shop. Most parents spend their time teaching their children how to save money. But ask yourself, have you taught yourself to shop? If you have the time, take your children to different stores such as Neimans, Macy’s and even a second hand store to give them an understanding of how to stretch their dollars while getting a good quality product.

4. Everyday moments. Recognize that everyday brings opportunities to teach your kids about finances. Whether it’s taking them along to with you to the bank, the grocery store so they can learn comparison shopping to tipping at restaurants or explaining why you chose one gas station over the other (if price related even if they sit opposite each other. Also consider playing board games with them such as Monopoly that starts them thinking about finance and property ownership.

To Hear the entire show, click HERE

Here are two good books I recommend parents read on raising financially savvy children.

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Leaving a Financial Legacy

What are your saving and investing habits teaching your children about money?

In Japan when a child is born, an account is started for that child's grandchild. In America when a child is born, we buy a few bibs, some Pampers and throw a party: all things that are disposable and, unlike a financial legacy, are momentary and fleeting.

Our children are returning to the classroom this month, and this is the perfect time to teach them financial literacy no matter how young or old they are. In order to create a financial legacy of wealth, not debt, we must teach our children how to make, save and spend money. We must encourage them to be entrepreneurs and business owners, because we want our financial legacy to be that of faith and values that determine how they handle finances for themselves and future generations.

What do you want your financial legacy to be?

Join us this Sunday, August 8th, on our Blog Talk Radio show (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/1yearmillionaires/2010/08/08/leaving-a-financial-legacy), as we give you strategic steps on creating a financial legacy for your children.

Find the Luggage: Time To Send Fear Packing Again!

Every now and then, we all suffer from FEAR! According to Wikipedia, Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. As we get older, our fear increases because we believe we have more to lose. The truth is far too many of us allow fear to control our lives.

Whatever the cause of your fears, I thought this would be a great time to share with you again the recording of the telerally that Lisa Maria Carroll and I hosted earlier this year in which we discussed the 5 ways to Send Fear Packing.

Just remember in listening to this recording that FEAR is False Evidence Appeared Real, and your goal is to not let some perceived state prevent you from accomplishing real things.


Click HERE to listen to the audio tape.

Kim Crouch is a wealth strategist and along with Lisa Maria Carroll, co-creator of the Millionaire Journey.

If You Really Want Wealth, Read! Read! And Read Again!

I know it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me or Lisa but we’ve been busy pushing toward day 365 of the Millionaire Journey! I once read a quote that said if you want to be rich, READ! And this is exactly what I’ve been doing these last few months. Reading every thing I could get my hands on. I know that my wealth has expanded ten fold because I've taken the time to make sure I acquire additional knowledge about investing, wealth creation and a multitude of other things.

There are some great books out that will help you increase your mindset around wealth accumulation, power of associations and just simply motivate you. They vary from the inexpensive to the expensive but I thought I would share them with you.

1. . Ok this is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. This is a nuts and bolts books from the 6 key profiles of the rich, to how to enter society, this book is a must read! I loved it.

2. This book is the definitive work concerning Warren Buffet and his investment philosophy. I liked this book because it explained in plain English basic principles of sound business practice.

3. . This is a great book by two mega millionaires Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump and I found it a great read. This book is less about the nuts and bolts of being rich and more about the philosophy behind attaining wealth. Great read from two of the best who know their stuff. Also available on Audio.

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5. . I heard about this book for a while and finally decided to read it. Found it a really practical book about the four pillars of personal finance— banking, saving, budgeting, and investing—and the wealth-building ideas of personal entrepreneurship. Geared for the younger crowd, the lessons are simple, easy and work.

6. I found this to be one of the best books on interpersonal skills, networking and development of relationships that I’ve seen in a long time.

7. . Really good book from Randall Pinkett, the first African-American to ever receive a Rhodes scholarship from Rutgers University. This brother brings the knowledge in this book.

Kim Crouch is a wealth strategist and along with Lisa Maria Carroll, co-creator of the Millionaire Journey.