financial success

Financial literacy is an important aspect of overall wellness that is often ignored and not passed on to the next generation. How many parents take the time to teach their children the basics of finance – such as savings and investments? To make things worse, children are given the wrong impression about money – that too much wealth is bad, and that money is innately evil.

If money is really that bad, here are 5 statistics that separate those that have rich and poor habits:

• 79% of those that are well off are fully responsible for their current financial condition, compared to 18% for the poor.
• 73% of the wealthy are taught the 80 / 20 rule. 5% of the poor live off of 80% or more of their income, leaving only 20% to none for savings.
• 6% of the wealthy play the lottery, compared to 77% of the poor.
• 80% of the wealthy focus on one goal at a time, compared to 12% of the poor.
• 67% of the wealthy watch 1 hour or less TV, compared to 23% of the poor.

These are everyday habits and surprisingly, having rich – like habits can definitely contribute to one’s financial success. As parents, our role is to ensure that our children are equipped with the necessary experience to tackle life issues – be it decision making, finance or the like. Make it a habit to teach your kids to save for something they want. Delaying gratification can be rewarding for children, especially if saving up for toys now can result to bigger and better toys in the future. Ensure that you get the following points across:

• Teach your kids that financial success is good.
• Reassure your children that mistakes are good, not bad. Make sure that they understand that success in life is built on learning from one’s mistakes.
• Take the time to talk to your children face to face for at least an hour a day. This allows you to have an understanding on your child’s opinion and ability to resolve issues.

With the wealth gap increasing by the day, which side are you on? Educate your children about financial literacy today.