Contributed by our partner American Century
A great way to strengthen client relationships is to tap into what’s
important to the individuals behind the portfolios. For many of your clients
who are parents, the ability to teach their children to handle finances is
likely a highly valued parenting skill.
With Yes, You Can financial education resources from American Century Investments, you can help parents teach valuable life lessons.
One of those resources, Yes, You Can…Raise Financially Aware Kids, is a book for educating children about money matters. Each chapter includes activities on money-related concepts, organized by age group.
To get you started, the following activities can help parents teach the history of money. Knowing how money has evolved gives children a better perspective into its role in society.
At the core of money’s importance is its value. In exchange for money, you get something of value in return. This concept is an extension of the age-old practice of bartering, in which something of value, which could be a good or a service, is exchanged for something else of value, which again, could be an item or service.
Let’s make a deal
Do chores sometimes pile up in your house because everyone is so busy? This exercise not only lets your family practice bartering skills, but will also help keep household chores from being left undone!
• Create a card for each chore or task that needs to be completed for the week. The tasks need to be simple enough that anyone can do them.
• Put the cards in a hat and have each family member draw until all the cards are gone.
EXAMPLE: Someone draws “Wash dishes after dinner,” but can’t do it on Monday and Wednesday because of baseball practice. That family member might barter or trade with the person who drew “Straighten living and family rooms” for those days. If no one will trade tasks, family members can offer services or goods for others to do their chores. “I will let you wear my ______ two times if you do the dishes for me on those days.”
The ATM experience
Next time you go to an ATM with your children, let them watch the screen as you punch in your selections, without giving them your PIN. Talk to them about the choices as you make them. Be especially sure to point out that you have to choose between the “From Checking” or “From Savings” options and explain that you have to have the money to cover the transaction in whichever account you choose.
This is a good time to explain that you can use any ATM to receive money. If you use one from outside of your bank’s system, you will be charged a service charge, which means even more will be taken out of your account than the amount you requested.
Request a printed ATM statement and show it to your children. Have them help enter the withdrawal in your check register and file the receipt when you get home.
You can contact American Century at 1-800-345-6488 or visit YesYouCanOnline.info to find out more. Yes, You Can resources, including weekly emails, quarterly newsletters, calculators and the entire library of award-winning Yes You Can series of ebooks — available for free download.