| Greetings!
Welcome to the March edition of the Kidnexions Connection. Our goal is to provide you with useful information about kids and money with an emphasis on making connections between what kids learn and their every day lives.
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| Teaching Kids Money |
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We're half way through our first Beyond the Piggy Bank Challenge. Families across the country are helping their kids learn to understand and be responsible with money. So we've decided to do another one to help celebrate April's Financial Literacy Month. Sign up and learn how to build the financial foundation with your kids. It's FREE and all begins April 5! Click here to learn more.
KidsSave 1.4: Our latest version of KidsSave was just released. Updates are FREE to customers. Here is a list of all the cool new features we've added:
- Transfer money between accounts
- Kids can change the theme sounds for their bank
- Improved printing, including Statement printouts (also more printer-ink friendly)
- Print out a goal certificate when a goal is completed
- Banker can make deposits and withdrawals from Banker section
- Helpful Tips for reward and allowance settings in Banker section
- Larger screen size
- Alphabetized listing of Accounts on Login screen
- Updated Help
- Extended guided walk-through (available at any time)
Does Money Motivate Us? A very interesting TED talk and well worth the time to view. Scroll down to see whether tying money and chores together is a good motivator.
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| Teachable Money Moment |
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The best way to teach kids financial literacy is in the context of their everyday lives. Here's this month's teachable money moment:
Help your child look for opportunities to earn a little extra money and learn some life skills along the way. Here are a couple of examples to get you started:
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You notice the garbage cans at your work place (or workout facility or community swimming pool or...) always filled to the brim with garbage, including cans and plastic water bottles. Bring this to the attention of your child and see if she can help you figure out a way where you can set up your own garbage can and collect the recyclables. She'll need to present this to the owners and have a clear plan that includes pick-up days. Not only will she be earning a little extra money but she'll be learning how to prepare a short presentation...not to mention that she'll be helping the planet, too!
- When it's time to clean out those closets and have a yard sale, instead of you organizing it, let your kids do it. They can even get the neighbors involved by having a block yard sale. Your kids will need to pick the day and times of the sale then "sell" it door to door to the neighbors. Once they have a "head count", they can collect money for advertising in the local paper. Guess who gets to write the ad for the paper? On top of earning a little extra money, but they'll be learning how to organize an event.
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| March Connection: It's All About the Practice |
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Remember teaching your child to ride his bike? You promised you'd be right there, hand on the seat, running alongside. And you were. Even when you let go, you were there to catch him when he "fell". But one day, after much practice, he didn't need you anymore; he just kept on going.
And then remember how hard he worked when he was preparing to give his speech to be the next Student Council President? You listened to that speech over and over, helped him project his voice and reminded him about eye contact. When the day of the speech arrived, he was ready.
We do these things with our kids because we want them to be successful. We know that success takes practice. Lots and lots of practice. We also know that practice builds confidence. So we help them with homework, drive them to gym lessons, and listen to their speeches.
The Money Connection: It is no different with money. If we want our kids to grow up to be successful at managing money, then they are going to need practice. Lots and lots of practice.
Kids practicing money? Really?
Do this quick exercise: Reflect for a moment on how you would like your child to handle money when he is an adult. Now think about all the things you are doing right now to help get him there. Are you doing enough?
Don't worry, you don't need to be a financial planner to help guide your child in money matters. Start by putting money in his hands and let him be responsible for all his discretionary spending. He'll learn pretty quickly about needs vs wants, making good choices, and saving.
We don't hand our child the keys to the family car unless he's proven that he can handle the responsibility. By the same token, neither should we let him out into the world on his own unless he has the foundation to make good financial decisions. Kids practicing money? You bet!
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KidsSave's Blog Vignettes |
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RESPONSIBILITY: Snap Goes the $300 Putter
SPENDING: Girls = $
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Karyn Recommends |
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 I usually recommend things that will help kids become money smart, but this time I'm focusing on parents. I just finished reading Investing 101 by Kathy Kristof and found it to be a pretty "easy" read, as far as investing books go.
I am a big believer in teaching kids how to invest. And the good news is, it doesn't have to get complicated. A Certificate of Deposit here, a mutual fund there. Perhaps a couple of individual stocks. The internet makes all of this super easy.
But it's still nice to have a little bit of a foundation. So if you want a quick reference book on investing, Investing 101's the way to go. | |
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"Getting a good education for your child is not a spectator sport." Charlie Hoff
Wishing you continued success as you teach your children to be saving savvy and money smart.
John and Karyn Hodgens
Kidnexions co-founders
Karyn Hodgens has a BA in Child Development, a Masters of Arts in Education with a Specialization in Elementary Mathematics, and a multiple subjects teaching credential. Her passion is designing real-world lessons that resonate with kids and their interests. Karyn is currently teaching kids how to prepare for their financial future in addition to writing about kids and money issues. Contact Karyn at karyn@kidnexions.com
John Hodgens has a BS in Electrical Engineering. He is currently a software engineer committed to designing software applications that help make teaching science and math concepts easier. Contact John at john@kidnexions.com |
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| Celebrating Success |
This Month's KidsSaver
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This month we're celebrating the second grade students in Ms. Hardt's classroom.
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| Raised for Richness |
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A "how to" to help kids master financial literacy, this family guide shows parents and caregivers how to initiate vital dialogue on money -- and life. |
| Our Blog |
Join us on our blog where we will be sharing stories about kids and their journey along the path to becoming saving savvy and money smart. |
| FREE Tools |
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Free tools to teach kids about money
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| ZiggityZoom.com |
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Read Karyn's latest article
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| LinkedIn |
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| LinkedIn: Join our group Conversations about Kids and Money. |
| Order KidsSave |
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| Quips and Tips |
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Join our list and recieve a copy of 8 Steps to Putting Your Kids in Charge of Their Financial Futures
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