Thank you for your active participation at the 19th Annual Youth Education Conference (YEC) in Oakland, CA this weekend. I had a great time sharing my expertise with the families represented.

As a follow-up to our time together, I’ve compiled a quick list of references and tools you can use based on the thoughtful questions you posed after our Get Financially Lit morning workshop.

Q1. Are there any online games that help kids learn about money management in a fun and engaging format?

Answer: Yes, check out Practical Money Skills by VISA for an online game of Financial Football or Financial Soccer to keep your kids engaged in learning about financial literacy. This site also provides games for ages 5-8 featuring Peter Pig.

Also, don’t underestimate the fun and learnings that can happen with classic board games like Monopoly, Pit: Corner the Market, or LIFE. These board games are a great place to have money conversations with your pre-teens, tweens, teens and young adults.

Q2: What age should I take my child to open a bank account?

Answer: As your child matures and learns about money, my recommendation is to make opening a bank account a special occasion at age 13. An account with their name is a new priviledge and responsibility and can be treated as a rite of passage into their teenage years. As the guardian, you will have to open the account for your minor child. Consider opening up a savings account with a credit union as they typically offer better rates and have accounts with rewards and incentives for students.

Q3: When your kids are ready to invest, where is the best place to start?

Answer: My recommendation is to begin learning about the stock market with virtual money. Check out www.stockmarketgame.org to begin this process and to practice the art of investing with no risk.

When you are ready to help your child invest with real money, there are several investment platforms that provide easy entry into investing. I recommend apps like Stash Invest and Robinhood. Stash is designed to help the investor consider a portfolio of investments, while Robinhood allows you to buy shares of stocks and ETFs with no commission. There’s also no minimum account balance.

For adults and college students with their own checking account, consider Acorns which helps you invest your spare change. Learn more here.

While these options may have higher fees than working with larger brokers, the benefits of these three apps are that they are easy to download, access and maneuver. They all offer low cost investment options and they serve as great learning tools for beginners.

Q4: As an adult, what are ways I can I teach and encourage financial literacy with my child?

Answer: Our kids have brilliant minds and are excellent observers! Their learning will begin by watching and mimicking what you do and how you handle money. As a parent, it is your responsibility to model healthy money habits and to start the money conversationto make sure they understand and begin to practice making good choices.

Visit my recent Holiday Gift Guide on ways you can reinforce healthy money habits through the act of gift giving.

I want to hear from you. 

Do you have additional questions from our time together?  If so, feel free to send an email to info@TheMasterPlaybook.com .

I’d also love to  receive your candid feedback on our time together.  Please click here to complete a short survey of our time together.

YEC :: Get Financially Lit :: Tools You Can Use

by themasterplaybook | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Thank you for your active participation at the 19th Annual Youth Education Conference (YEC) in Oakland, CA this weekend. I had a great time sharing my expertise with the families represented.

As a follow-up to our time together, I’ve compiled a quick list of references and tools you can use based on the thoughtful questions you posed after our Get Financially Lit morning workshop.

Q1. Are there any online games that help kids learn about money management in a fun and engaging format?

Answer: Yes, check out Practical Money Skills by VISA for an online game of Financial Football or Financial Soccer to keep your kids engaged in learning about financial literacy. This site also provides games for ages 5-8 featuring Peter Pig.

Also, don’t underestimate the fun and learnings that can happen with classic board games like Monopoly, Pit: Corner the Market, or LIFE. These board games are a great place to have money conversations with your pre-teens, tweens, teens and young adults.

Q2: What age should I take my child to open a bank account?

Answer: As your child matures and learns about money, my recommendation is to make opening a bank account a special occasion at age 13. An account with their name is a new priviledge and responsibility and can be treated as a rite of passage into their teenage years. As the guardian, you will have to open the account for your minor child. Consider opening up a savings account with a credit union as they typically offer better rates and have accounts with rewards and incentives for students.

Q3: When your kids are ready to invest, where is the best place to start?

Answer: My recommendation is to begin learning about the stock market with virtual money. Check out www.stockmarketgame.org to begin this process and to practice the art of investing with no risk.

When you are ready to help your child invest with real money, there are several investment platforms that provide easy entry into investing. I recommend apps like Stash Invest and Robinhood. Stash is designed to help the investor consider a portfolio of investments, while Robinhood allows you to buy shares of stocks and ETFs with no commission. There’s also no minimum account balance.

For adults and college students with their own checking account, consider Acorns which helps you invest your spare change. Learn more here.

While these options may have higher fees than working with larger brokers, the benefits of these three apps are that they are easy to download, access and maneuver. They all offer low cost investment options and they serve as great learning tools for beginners.

Q4: As an adult, what are ways I can I teach and encourage financial literacy with my child?

Answer: Our kids have brilliant minds and are excellent observers! Their learning will begin by watching and mimicking what you do and how you handle money. As a parent, it is your responsibility to model healthy money habits and to start the money conversationto make sure they understand and begin to practice making good choices.

Visit my recent Holiday Gift Guide on ways you can reinforce healthy money habits through the act of gift giving.

I want to hear from you. 

Do you have additional questions from our time together?  If so, feel free to send an email to info@TheMasterPlaybook.com .

I’d also love to  receive your candid feedback on our time together.  Please click here to complete a short survey of our time together.