3 Invaluable Money Lessons Millennial Parents Are Teaching Their Kids
Remember those couple of years when bashing millennials seemed to be all the rage on the internet?
It turns out this generation of Americans might be the only age group with their heads screwed on tight, especially when it comes to money lessons and debt.
Boomers are still taking on huge debt – even at advanced ages – and debt is crushing Gen X.
Meanwhile, Millennials are paying it off in record numbers, and they’re on track to generate more wealth than any previous generation.
Hopefully, future generations are better off with Millennials teaching kids about money, debt, and savings.
Nerdwallet asked five Millennials the money lessons they’re teaching their children, especially kids younger than teens.
‘Don’t ever think your child is too young to learn’ – Laurynn Vaughn, 37
Laurynn is a single parent with two daughters under 6. Here’s what she had to say about teaching her kids to two most important lessons about wealth.
“I don’t want to pass on the fact that I was not taught about money. I think the earlier you teach your children, the better.
I already teach them that there are pretty much three principles with money.
The No. 1 thing is giving. The second thing is saving. And the third thing is, what you have left is what you can enjoy.”
‘It’s better to be a working student and leave college with much less debt’ – Mae Waugh Barrios, 34
Mae has three children. She’s teaching them that it’s better to pay off debt – especially student loans – as early as possible. This means working while you’re still going to school.
“That was the biggest mistake I made in my whole life. Everyone said go to whatever college you want, just take the loans. Nobody told me the real after-effects of student loans…
It’s [also] better to be a working student and leave college with much less debt. My husband and I have made sure we don’t get so bogged down by debt that we can’t survive.
We talk a lot at the dinner table about being rich and being poor.
If you are rich, your money works for you. If you are poor, you work for money.”
‘Build another stream of income’ – Jernessa Jones, 39
Jernessa is a single mom to a 6-year-old son. The Alabama native believes that generational wealth is to have additional income streams – like a side hustle – is the best way to get ahead.
“I was looking for houses last year because homeownership is the first step to building generational wealth. I realized I could afford the mortgages for some of the houses I looked at, but I’d probably be house poor.
I decided to step back and see what I could do to build another stream of income. Entrepreneurship was another thing I could teach my son about. From beginning to end, even when I opened my business bank account, he was there.”
To read more lessons Millennials are teaching their kids, check out the entire article on Nerdwallet.