Teaching the Next Generation Financial Wellness

Let’s be real—no parent dreams that their kid thinks budgeting means checking their Venmo balance and hoping for the best.

Financial wellness isn’t just about having money; it’s about managing it. And if we don’t teach our kids early, they might still be in our basements at 35, asking for our Netflix password (again).

Kids are financial geniuses—when it’s your money. They'll dissect dinner menus like Wall Street traders if you’re paying, but blow their birthday cash like rappers in a music video. The fix? Start young and make it real. Show them how much things cost and why it’s smart to spend wisely. Next time they want a $7 oat milk latte, hand them a $10 bill and let them keep the change. Watch them reconsider their “must-have” order.

Teaching financial responsibility isn’t about child labor—it’s about perspective. Pay for chores above “basic survival” tasks. Making their bed? Free. Washing the car? Bonus bucks. And when you take “Mom’s cut for gas and snacks,” they’ll feel the sting of taxes firsthand.

Saving money can be as exciting as watching paint dry, but visuals help. My kids, now 21 and 25, are good humans who want independence. But in Southern California, living solo isn’t easy without support. The balance between helping them and letting them manage their own money has been a huge household conversation. School never taught them to balance a checkbook, so I framed it like running a business—payables, receivables, and understanding “money in, money out.”

Letting kids manage an allowance—without bailouts—is a crash course in budgeting.

Blowing it on bubble tea and Roblox? A cheap lesson in consequences. That first $20 heartbreak is better than a $20,000 one later. And credit cards? Kids think they’ve hacked life: “Buy now, pay later—amazing!” Until that first bill hits. Before they get lured by college credit card offers, teach them: Plastic isn’t free money—it’s borrowed, and it comes with interest.

Financial wellness isn’t about turning kids into misers—it’s about setting them up for success. One day, they’ll live within their means, invest in their future, and—just maybe—take you out to dinner. And when they do? Order the lobster. After all, they learned from the best.

To your vitality,
Lizanne