Apps can help reinforce kids' lessons in personal finance
MINNEAPOLIS -- Emptying the dishwasher might seem like a typical household chore. But for the Day family, it's more than that. It also is a lesson on personal finance.
"I want to make sure my kids aren't in that position where they don't understand something," Jon Day, a father of three, said. "I want them to be able to say I've learned this my whole life, and just kind of fall back on that skill."
It's a skill some adults struggle to understand. But 13-year-old Amelia already has a pretty good idea.
"I had to work hard for that cash," she said. "I'm not going to spend it on a pencil case or something."
It's a method called "money parenting," and it's all about teaching kids about money and how it works. While there's different strategies on how to implement this into a child's life, Busy Kids is what works best for the Day family. It's an app that tracks chores and allowances and lets the child, decide what to save, spend or give through a debit card the app provides.
"We've found ways to make to work and make these kids start to learn that responsibility," Jon said. "So, when they turn 18 and they leave home they are not all the sudden thrust into a world where they just don't understand finances."
It's an idea Armstrong High School economics teacher James Redelsheimer can get behind.
"As a parent of three kids, I love the sound of it," he said.
In his economics classes, Redelsheimer makes a point to teach a unit on personal finance ever year.
"It's my favorite thing to teach," Redelsheimer said. "It's so essential for students to understand the choices of getting credit card debt or long-term implications of student loans. And how starting investing at an early age can give you a huge advantage when you understand the power of compounding interest and how to choose a mutual fund and things like that. It's really rewarding to see the impact it has on students."
He sees that impact a lot.
"Every semester I've had kids open up Roth IRAs, figure out how to submit their taxes. And as I've lived in the community for a while, there's not a month that goes by where I don't hear from a former student or parents and say, 'Oh, my student made great choices with their college loans or paid them off or chose this option where they were able to have a financially successful future.'"
It's inspired him to stretch that impact, by advocating for a bill that would make personal finance education a graduation requirement for every student in Minnesota.
"This is a big deal," he said. "It's making its way through the legislature, and it seems to have a lot of momentum."
The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Hodan Hassan (DFL-Minneapolis) has support from Next Gen Personal Finance and Minnesota Council on Economic Education, according to Redelsheimer.
He believes if it passes, it will set future generations up for success and avoid young people learning about personal finance the hard way.
"It's so important to raise kids with a good financial understanding so they can set a foundation for a good successful future," Redelsheimer said.
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