Money Fails Sabotaging Your Kid's Future

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Hey Money Mentors,

Want your kids eating ramen at 30? Keep making these money mistakes.

66% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Let's make sure your rugrats aren't part of that stat.

I once bought my 5-year-old an iPad "for educational purposes." Yeah, right. $800 later, she's a Minecraft pro and I'm an idiot. Learn from my failure.

Here are five ways we're screwing up our kids' financial future:

1. The Credit Card Shuffle

You're not a Kardashian. Stop swiping like one.

What to do: Set up a "mock credit card" system at home. Let them borrow $20 for that Lego set. Charge 10% interest if not paid back in a week. Watch their eyes bug out when they owe $22.

2. Impulse Buy City

Americans blow $1,812 a year on random crap they don't need. That's $151 of regret every month.

The fix: Institute a family "24-hour rule" for anything over $20. Bonus: Fewer useless gadgets cluttering your house.

3. Food Waste Fiesta

The average household tosses $1,600 worth of food annually. That's a lot of moldy bread, folks.

Try this: Involve kids in meal planning and grocery shopping. Let them feel the pain of throwing away that $5 box of strawberries they just had to have.

4. Health? Who Needs It?

Ignoring health to save a buck now = massive bills later. U.S. healthcare spending hit $4.5 trillion in 2022. That's $13,493 per person!

Teach this: Health = wealth. Period. Make annual check-ups a family event. Turn it into a game: "Who can get the best cholesterol score or the brightest teeth?"

5. Balling on a Budget

Flashy spending is like peeing your pants in a dark suit. You feel warm for a minute, then it gets cold and everybody notices.

The lesson: True wealth is often invisible. Warren Buffett still lives in the house he bought in 1958 for $31,500. (Fun fact: It's now worth $1.4 million. Not bad, Warren.)

TIME FOR ACTION

Pick at least one of these:

1. Credit Card Reality Check: Let your kid "borrow" $20. Charge 10% interest weekly. Watch the lightbulb moment when they owe $24.20 in two weeks.

2. Impulse Buy Bootcamp: Give your kid $5 at the store. If they don't buy anything, they get $10 next week. Delayed gratification for the win.

3. Fridge Forensics: Have kids track what food gets tossed this week. Dollar value it and see who can waste the least $$$ (it also kills two birds with one stone since the’’ll eat more)

4. Health Hustle: Family push-up challenge. $1 in their savings for every push-up. Show 'em how health and wealth connect.

5. Stealth Wealth Game: Spot the millionaire. Show pics of Warren Buffett vs. a typical Instagram Influencer. Who's really loaded? Discuss.

You're not raising accountants. You're raising decision-makers. Every swipe of your card is a lesson. What are you teaching?

Next week: Why your 6-year-old doesn't need to understand compound interest (but you do).

Until next time, keep building those money smarts!

Kamil Banc
MINI M🟡NEY MENTOR

P.S. Know a parent who needs this wake-up call? Forward this email. Their kids' future piggy banks will thank you.