It’s important to teach kids about managing money. How did/do you do it with your kids?

From inception. In the womb, my DebtKids were played Money, Money by Grateful Dead, Barrett Strong’s Money (That’s What I Want) and Billionaire by Travie McCoy.

There was a money mobile over their cots, and were wrapped in to their snuggly quilts featuring $100 notes. Their first soft toy was “Maisy the Money Monkey”. They earned 20c cash rewards for anything. Everything.

Their first, and still favourite, movie was Wall Street with Charlie Sheen. They watched old videos of Dallas and Dynasty instead of Sesame Street and Bob the Builder. Their first board game was Monopoly.

They know that money is the true god. To be revered from birth.

Not.

To any of the above.

DebtBoy is eight and DebtGirl now seven. It’s only been recently that we’ve introduced financial concepts, like receiving pocket money. It goes straight into a bank account they can see on a screen.

There is one money rule I want them to learn above all else. And that’s about delayed gratification.

You could spend your $100 now. You could blow the lot on footy cards, or a new Barbie. But if you choose to save or invest it, you can turn it into $200 for later.

Sadly, with current interest rates, that might take them 30 years. But the point is that they see their money making money.

So, they can spend some of it, but they must save some.

And, given a few years, they’ll be shown the share market via something like an index fund. Like school and sport, getting money habits right early is a critical skill.

Bruce Brammall is the principal adviser with Bruce Brammall Financial (www.brucebrammall.com.au) and author of Mortgages Made Easy.