Money Wise: Start young

I recently had a conversation about finances with a four year old. A very

precocious young man, he never fails to disappoint me with his level of

understanding and maturity about the more complicated things of life -

until then.

We were speaking about the celebration of his recent birthday

and as a gift, I gave him a one dollar bill. I told him he could spend

some, give some away and save the rest in his piggy bank. He looked up at

me with the hugest brown eyes you have ever seen and asked “what is a

piggy bank?” I explained. And he responded “I don’t have one of those.”

His parents were visibly embarrassed as they briskly tried to discard his

comment - but it was too late. They knew, that I knew, they were not

teaching their child the basic fundamentals. They knew because the

disappointment was written all of my face.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “You’re not entitled to an opinion in

this situation.” And you are right, I am not. I broke one of the most

important rules that I try to live by: show no reaction to another’s

actions because in doing so, you are judging and in doing so, you are

judging. By reacting negatively to the comment he made, I was judging

how they are raising their son.

But I wasn’t reacting to their personal situation as much as I was

reacting to the whole of society’s position on piggy banks in the 21st

century. Does your son or daughter have a piggy bank? Do they know what

a piggy bank is? Does anybody have a piggy bank? Do you have a piggy

bank? Does our country have a piggy bank? Do other nations have piggy

banks?

Preparing for the future by dropping a few coins into the belly of a

hollow pig is not a difficult concept to understand. In fact, it is one

of the most basic laws of all living creatures. Just watch a squirrel,

in the fall, bury his little acorns in the earth, knowing instinctively

that winter will come or read how a cow first collects her food, then

stores it so that she may eat it later!

Take the time to teach your kid (or yourself) the law of savings. First,

take three boxes and label one “me”, label another “others”, and label

the third “piggy bank”. Don’t get hung up on what to call your boxes.

You can call them anything: “bills, “donations” and “savings” or

“expenditures”, “charitable giving” and “retirement income.” Use

terminology you can understand.

Now, take four quarters (which make up a dollar) and put two of them in

the “me” box, one in the “others” box and the last in the “piggy bank.”

And finally, use the money in the “me” box and pay your bills, take the

money in the “others” box and pay other’s bills and leave the money in

the “piggy bank” - ALONE!!! Congratulations! You have now created a

“piggy bank.”

Digression to the simpler ways of doing things is often best. Don’t wait

for your child to learn percentages in school. If your child receives a

ten dollar bill from Granny, then give him ones in exchange and go

through the same process: three in the “me”, three in the “others” and

three in the “piggy bank”. Don’t worry that the math is not perfect.

Life is rarely perfect but we must not avoid dealing with it.

Let’s change society by changing ourselves! Let’s teach our kids to be

smarter than ourselves! “Piggy Banks” of the world, UNITE!!

THE END

Donna Clements speaks with 15 years under her belt as a financial advisor

and 10 years as a professional in association management as it pertains to

the field of law. She is available for personal consultation or for

speaking engagements with businesses, civic groups and non-profit

associations. Her phone number is 252-326-9194 and her e-mail is

dtklemes@yahoo.com