Cash Flow at Home Idea

What's potentially one of the greatest dangers to your personal cash flow?

Layoffs?

Clunky car needing fixed again?

Perhaps.

But what about your kids?

Yep, those little bundles of joy you brought home (or in our case the ones we adopted) could suck the living cash flow right out of your house and bank account as they age into their teen years.

So here are some ideas to help them get a better handle on money and how to handle their income:

• Allowance
- teach them to budget starting small

• Budgeting
- let them pay for their own cell phone!

• Mutual Fund Investing
- give them a basic under- standing of what $25 a month can do for their future.

• Post Bills on the Refreigerator

We did this last tip. We posted our household gas bill for one month on the refrigerator and my wife used a Sharpie to circle the total we owed. It helped us in explaining to them why shorter showers are one way to help us save money.

While one of these tips in and of themselves only offer a small education, nevertheless put them into practice over many months and they will eventually develop a mindset to handle their money.

Also, I'm beginning to talk to my kids who are in their late teens and early 20s, about becoming an investor and not just a consumer.