teaching your kid to balance a checkbook

In fact, I find that I’m frequently teaching these concepts to my clients who didn’t get this information when they were kids.

How to take control of their financial life.

How to overcome a financial setback, and.

What to do when they can’t afford something they want (hint: the answer is not, “ask mom/dad”).

Which begs the question, what are you teaching your kids?ĭid you know that children as young as three years old can grasp financial concepts like saving and spending? And a report by researchers at the University of Cambridge revealed that kids’ money habits are mostly formed by age seven… way earlier than most people think.īut I find there are several key concepts that traditional money advice forgets when it comes to educating kids about money. There are probably two sides to this coin: what they actually taught you, and what you picked up from them as attitudes, fears, and habits. I would say, the mechanics of basic personal finance are only part of the story you got from your parents. (Other examples: a gas station transaction was once $40 more because of the 'temporary' authorization hold that never went away, and an automatic payment was once double-paid by the bank.) For me, there is so little work involved in writing everything down and using a calculator, that I just see it as insurance against instances like these.What did you learn from your parents about money? Did they teach you how to balance a checkbook (haha, what’s a checkbook?)? Create a budget? How to use a credit card? This is not the first time I've noticed amounts that I suspect I might miss if I didn't always do the math by hand. My husband's former method of 'balancing' his checkbook was to rely on what the online statement said. Your account will be credited by the end of the day.' it looks like you made a withdrawal at a branch. 'Well it doesn't necessarily have to be a check, just a debit. I called the bank customer service, and said I had not (to use another antiquated term) 'written a check' for $20 during the time period in question. I logged into my online banking to verify that a transaction had gone through, and immediately noticed it was $20 off. I do, and I was reminded of why this morning. So I'm sort of like a cross between an old person who hates newfangled inventions, a rebel who refuses to fit in a box, and a control-freak nerd who goes a bit overboard. Or at least I feel better winging it in some areas when I have stability in others. I do have a big enough buffer that I don't really have to worry about cash flow, but I'm not a winging-it sort of person. I also keep track of my spending and budgeting on a spreadsheet (on a laptop) since I'm in semi-retirement until my pension kicks in and this helps me psychologically keep my spending down. (Also, modern devices are still not impervious to rain.)

I used to use an electronic spreadsheet on a personal device (before my Revo broke for good stupid flash flooding soaking through my backpack), and I don't really like the new personal electronic devices because they are focused on other people's data rather than my data, and I don't really like how other people (e.g., Mint) organize the data or what a pain it is to enter my own data. This way I can see what's gone through and keep an eye on whether anything fishy is going on with my accounts. I check each of these accounts online about twice a month. (The checking account balance is positive and the credit card balances are usually negative.) Then I use part of the last column for my total balance. I use one column for things that affect my checking account, one for one of my credit cards, and part of one for my other credit cards. I balance my checking account and my two credit card accounts as well, all in one check book register.

For me, the big advantage is that the pen and pencil version can survive heavy rains.

Teaching your kid to balance a checkbook