Mikael Rieck is the author of more than hundred articles on topics of how to make money both online and offline. He has been online since 1999 and has always had a passion for money making opportunities and teaching others how to make a profit.Teach Your Kids to Make Money with Money
If you are like most people you have probably been raised and taught in school to get a good education and to go get a good high paying job.
I am not saying that there is anything wrong with this solution but it is important to realize that it is not the only way to live.
The problem for most of us and I believe it is one of the reasons that so many people are struggling is that it is the ONLY way we know how to make money. Our schools and our parents haven’t been able to teach us anything else… but I have a suggestion that you can use to help your kids (and yourself) from ending up in the same situation. At least they should have an alternative to getting JOB, right?
Budget and Money Making
When your kids are old enough let them budget the weekly grocery expenses. Tell them that they have e.g. $100 and that they will need to figure out how to get food on the table for all meals and still shop for things that the family would like to eat.
They might fail at first but failing is an important learning experience. As long as you encourage them and guide them, they will become good at it. Not being foolish with money and learning how to budget is an important first step to become financially educated (most adults STILL don’t know how to do this).
If you make this into a game your kids will quickly learn how to do this and you can give them the second “game” to play. Give them e.g. $10 and tell them that the game is to double that money. Instead of working for money they will learn to have money work for them.
It doesn’t matter how they double the money as long as they get their creative brain started thinking in these patterns. Once they have done this a few times they will become better and better and eventually they will see the benefits (and the point behind it) of having money work for them instead of working for money.
Do you think your life would have been different today if your parents had taught you these skills at an early age? – I know my life would have been very different!
And remember that by teaching others you are actually the one that will learn the most as teaching things yourself has been proven to be the most effective way to learn. 
To Your Success,
Mikael
19 Responses so far
Chloe @ Ben 10 Toys
July 20th, 2009
6:27 pm
My parents certainly taught me how to be careful with money. I had an allowance and once it had gone nothing more came my way! They didn’t teach me how to be entrepreneurial though. They were from the ‘get a good job and stay in it until you retire’ school of thought which doesn’t work so well these days. We are trying to teach our 8 year old about money but we’re probably too soft with him. He thinks that if we need money we should just go to the bank. The fact that you have to put money into the bank to get it out doesn’t register with him! I’ll try your experiments with him though and we’ll see what happens.
Cheers, Chloe
.-= Chloe @ Ben 10 Toys´s last blog ..The Busy Parents Guide To Green Toys For Boys =-.
Mikael
July 20th, 2009
10:47 pm
HI Chloe, I think you will do your kid a huge favor. There might be a bit more of a learning curve as he is already “conditioned” but he’ll thank you for giving him a choice instead of just “a path” like we were given by our parents.
jason
July 21st, 2009
2:11 am
My parents taught me a few things but if they had taught me more I think I would have been better off. I will make sure that my kids, when I have them, know enough about money .
.-= jason´s last blog ..Stupidity at its best… =-.
The Gooroo @ Finance Advisory Stop
July 21st, 2009
12:26 pm
Mikael,
I couldn’t agree with you more. I’ve seen a lot of my friends parents be the same way — they never look further, to see that getting an education and a job after are not the only ways to make a living. Luckily, my parents have looked further, which is why I blog
.-= The Gooroo @ Finance Advisory Stop´s last blog ..Moving – For The Better Or Worse? =-.
Mikael
July 21st, 2009
12:33 pm
@Gooroo, did they actually actively help or encourage you to start something or did you do that on your own but with their blessings?
The Gooroo @ Finance Advisory Stop
July 21st, 2009
1:23 pm
They did encourage me often. If you’ve read my blog, you’ve probably seen that I moved recently from Canada to the USA. Moving in the midst of high school was very hard, so I started using the computer a lot. My parents noticed I only used the computer to chat with friends, and things like that. They were well aware that my skill with computers is quite high for my age (let alone my typing speed
), and suggested I should think of an idea online as a hobby, and possibly to make money. My motivation first started when I saw the Million Dollar Homepage. He made a million online — why can’t others do it?
In short, I would say it was my parents who actively helped and encouraged me
.-= The Gooroo @ Finance Advisory Stop´s last blog ..Moving – For The Better Or Worse? =-.
Jack Garreth@ online games
July 22nd, 2009
6:02 am
My parents always motivated me to save my pocket money they use to give me every month. I had this small piggy bank with me wherein i was suppose to collect all my savings. And at the end of the month we use to count that money and buy something nice for me, it can be something from stationary or some comics i wanted or something else i needed, that is how i knew hopw to deal with money, but the tips you mentioned is like teaching them accounts and how to handle money at a very early age which is wonderful it will not only improve there analytical skill but also the general maths.
Mikael
July 22nd, 2009
8:05 am
Hi Jack,
Seems like we have been taught the same thing.
“Saving and spending.”
Not that I blame our parents (they didn’t know any better) but I think that their teachings are one of the reasons so many people are struggling today. Especially since some have taken it a step further and exchanged the “save part” with “borrowing”.
Mikael
Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help
July 23rd, 2009
10:39 am
I’m not entirely sure why, but most of the societies where I lived, money is something kinda taboo.
Most of the parents don’t feel comfortable talking about money, and even less really teaching about it. And this is reflected through the education we get in school.
This is one of the things that amaze me the most, school is supposed to prepare you for life, but when you come out of it, you realize that you know nothing at all, you’re just a fresh graduate.
And like you said, all you heard is when you graduate, you’ll get a good job with good money. The interesting thing to see further is that many people with good money salary still have a lot of money problems.
That proves that income alone is not sufficient, you must know how to manage your money, and indeed, I do believe that things would be very different if money issues were part of a curriculum either taught by parent or school teachers.
I have to admit to my shame that I was very bad at money management when I first started to get money… I had this weird belief that whatever amount of money I had must be spent by the time I reach the end of the month…
It was like damn, I have $50 and there’s still 3 days before the end of the month, what can I buy to clear that off?
I learned quickly that it wasn’t the right thinking…
.-= Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..Is Your SEO Work Really Comprehensive? =-.
Sire
July 24th, 2009
2:38 pm
My parents always taught me that one of the best ways to make money was to save as much as possible, by only buying what you need and to shop around for the best price. I can still see my dad in action bargaining with shop keepers and always getting a good deal.
He also taught us how to invest, and how it was better to own a home rather than rent one.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Aussie Powerball Jackpots To $80 Million =-.
Mikael
July 24th, 2009
5:05 pm
Hi Sire,
I know how that feels like. My parents taught me the same thing. But again we must remember that they didn’t know any better.
Sire
July 24th, 2009
5:33 pm
Ah, but I meant it as a good thing. It’s because of what they taught me that I am where I am today. I own my own home and have a profitable business. The only reason I am not at the stage where I could retire is because of some bad decisions on my part.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Word Of Mouth, A Bloggers Most Effective Marketing Technique =-.
Mikael
July 24th, 2009
5:38 pm
Oh…
Then I guess we disagree about what “good” is.
I am not saying that you can’t follow that strategy and live a great life but I have yet to find someone following that strategy living an abundant life. Are your parents very rich? (if you don’t mind me asking)
Sire
July 25th, 2009
10:38 am
Nope, but they are very comfortable. They have enough resources to buy what they need without asking for handouts and they are very content with their life. Can’t ask for much more than that.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Aussie Powerball Jackpots To $80 Million =-.
Mikael
July 25th, 2009
4:20 pm
And that is great. It all depends on what it is that you want. Nothing is right or wrong (unless you complain then it is wrong)
Since this blog is about retiring rich I will therefore talk about following a different philosophy but I will never state what is “right” or “wrong”. That is for the individual to decide as long as they are not expecting an outcome that is different than the philosophy they live by.
Sire
July 25th, 2009
4:48 pm
Ah, yes that is true, but then one may want to define riches. For one person it may be a whole lot of money, for someone else it could be something entirely different. Once one defined the difference between the two, all that remains is the realization as to which of the two is happier with what he has got.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Aussie Powerball Jackpots To $80 Million =-.
Mikael
July 25th, 2009
5:36 pm
Absolutely. I do however think that is more a matter of “playing with words” but I know what you mean
Also a great topic for a future post.
lance
July 29th, 2009
7:35 am
Teaching the kids how to get money is Chinese values. We are lucky that they are strict with internet law, otherwise we have big competitors
.-= lance´s last blog ..Outbound Call Center =-.
Mikael
August 12th, 2009
6:11 pm
Hi Lance, I think we will start to see some very strong competition from China in the near future and I don’t think it is a matter of “if”, but rather “when”, so we might as well prepare for it.
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