saved a few hundred dollars a year or that I don’t have to fi ght with him about things he doesn’t really need, but that he’s aware that we think about the choices we make around money and we use our money to buy things that will make our lives better in some way.


I also fi nd that gift cards are great tools


for teaching how to make decisions about money. Once a year, a generous friend of the family sends Target gift cards to my kids. This is a serious event for our family and one we set aside an entire afternoon for. I encourage them to think ahead of time about what they want to buy and to consider items other than toys: sporting equipment or clothes or decorations for their rooms. They all approach our shop- ping trip very differently. Two of them spend every dollar on the card, while the other two only buy a couple of things they want and save the rest. Three of them spend a lot of time weighing the available options, while the other one just grabs ev- erything she sees that looks good. They can bring their own money to supplement the gift card, but they know I won’t be giving money to them if they go over.


Talking easily and openly about money


at home is giving your children a gift. You don’t have to tell them exactly how much you make nor share with them anything that might cause them stress, like knowing you’re carrying around a lot of debt, but consider starting conversations about those little, every-day decisions about money and why you’re making the choices you are. If you’ve made a smart money choice, tell them about it and if you’ve made mistakes in the past, share those too. You don’t have to be a fi nancial genius to have learned some smart lessons over the years. Let your children learn from your mistakes so that hopefully they won’t repeat them. Our kids don’t have a lot of ways to learn about money, so engaging them in active con- versations about money choices will allow you to shape the lessons they’re learning and make sure they’re taking away the right messages.


Allison V. Bishop, CPA, is a personal fi nance coach in Portland, Maine with 19 years experience as a CPA. She seeks to help her clients make conscious decisions around their money in order to reach their fi nancial goals. Her website is allisonbishop.com. See ad on page 21.


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