Now that my book, 'Grandpa’s Fortune Fables', has been released, it’s a good time to reflect on the different financial education topics that I have covered to date and which to cover moving forward.
In this blog, I’ll go through 9 key topics I believe all parents should be teaching their kids. I’ll provide links to the blogs I’ve written on these topics so you can explore further (these will open in separate tabs so you can read later).
I’ve put a GFF next to the topics which are covered in my book, 'Grandpa’s Fortune Fables'.
I’ve broken down this checklist into three parts, in order of importance:
Money Mindset, e.g. Rich vs Wealthy
Money Habits, e.g. Save before you spend
Money Knowledge, e.g. What is investing?
Money Mindset
Having the right money mindset is critical for kids to grow up financially healthy. Their money mindset will determine the actions they take and the habits they form.
The default mindset for most people is that they work in a job, pay their bills and then enjoy spending the rest of their money. As they get paid more, they spend more on nicer things. This is repeated until they can retire at 65 to 70 years old. This is what I call the ‘Rich Mindset’.
As parents we should help our kids consider other mindsets which could lead to a much happier and fulfilled lifestyle.
This mindset is where they save some of their money for the future. These savings can provide protection in case of emergencies and this money can grow whilst they sleep so they can retire earlier and enjoy more time with their family and friends.
One of the best ways to get kids to appreciate the different mindsets is to get kids to think of money like seeds. Their goal (mindset) should be to plant some seeds and grow their own financial forest. Each time they plant (save), a tree will grow and that tree will produce more seeds. As their forest grows in size, it will provide them with all they ever need in the future. This is what I call the ‘Wealthy Mindset’.
Having this mindset reduces the chances of them needing to 'keep up with the Jones'' as they’ll appreciate that in most cases the Jones’ aren’t growing a forest as they are giving away all their seeds (spending).
The other mindset we should help our kids form is the mindset of ‘giving’.
Again, those that give some money to help others are less likely to focus on ‘keeping up with the Jones’’ as they appreciate that helping others can bring so much joy, both to them and the people they are helping.
3 essential blogs I’ve written on mindset:
Money Habits
It’s the money habits that our kids form which determines their financial future. The actions they take, or the habits they form, are going to be linked to their mindset. It’s our job as parents to help them form great money habits from a young age.
Ultimately for your kids to grow up financially healthy, you want them to be following the Three Rules of Wealth:
Save at least 1 out of every 10 (dollars, pounds or whichever currency they receive)
Invest the money they save
Be patient
Or as Grandpa Jack says in my book:
"To grow your own Fortune Forest, you need to:
1. Keep one out of every 10 seeds you receive
2. Plant the seeds you keep
3. Let your trees grow."
Unfortunately, these actions will not come naturally to most kids. This means we have to TRAIN our kids to follow them. This is why I believe pocket money is so important. It provides a weekly tool to help kids to form great money habits from a young age.
3 essential blogs I’ve written on forming money habits:
Money Knowledge
There is a view that once we acquire some new knowledge, it will act as a catalyst for us and our kids to change our mindset and actions. Whilst that might happen, it’s not always the case. The example I use quite often is that we all know an overweight doctor. Doctors have more knowledge about health than most people but some still have poor eating / exercise habits, i.e. knowledge doesn’t lead to the right actions.
We therefore need to prioritise helping our kids form the right money mindset and to take the right actions. Just providing them with knowledge about money might not be enough.
That’s not to say that knowledge isn’t important. The more we teach our kids about different money topics, the more likely it is to reinforce the mindset and actions we want them to take.
This is a key theme in my book, Grandpa’s Fortune Fables. The main characters, Gail and Boris, learn from Grandpa and then use this knowledge to start taking actions.
3 essential blogs on money knowledge:
This is just a selection of blogs, you can see the full list of these blogs here.
What blogs to expect in the future
As I reflect back on the blogs I’ve written over the last two years, I feel proud to have covered most of the essential money topics.
That being said, everyone learns in different ways and just saying something once doesn’t always lead to change. Therefore, I will continue to write more blogs focusing on helping your kids form a positive money mindset in different and, hopefully, creative ways. I believe getting the right money mindset is paramount for the financial health of the next generation.
I will also be focusing on more real-world case studies to highlight families which have adopted positive money habits and as a result have prospered.
Lastly, I have been receiving specific topic requests to increase the money knowledge of both kids and parents. These include more on tax, student loans, and salary sacrifice (I believe this is more for the parents than their kids ).
I will, of course, be coming up with more stories (or Fortune Fables as I now call them) to make learning about different financial topics fun for your kids. My daughters will ensure that I don’t stop coming up with new stories.
If there are other money topics that you believe would be useful to cover then please email me at will@bluetreesavings.com.
Thanks for reading.
Will
P.S. A big thank you to those of you who have already purchased my book - your support is very much appreciated. I hope you enjoy it and tell other families. If you haven’t, there is still plenty of time before Christmas to get your copy! Get your copy here.
Checklist of the 9 essential blogs I recommend all parents read:
Money Mindset:
Money Habits:
Money Knowledge: