Financial skills (aka financial literacy) have been a topic of discussion for many years. Learned financial skills –
- effective or otherwise;
- knowingly, or unwittingly,
pass on within households and families. This perpetuates financial habits. One of the greatest influences we have on our children is our behaviour, whether as parents or other adult carers. They learn from observing our behaviours more readily than they do by listening to what we have to say.
Are you a saver – or a spendthrift?
Is your family budget constantly a topic of negative discussion?
Are your ‘bills’ always on display and a source of anxiety?
Do you actively try to demonstrate successful financial control of your affairs?
Your children are watching – AND LEARNING!!
Knowing this to be the case it is important that we practice effective, positive financial skills (exhibiting that we are financially literate):
- carefully ensuring that income exceeds expense;
- strategising debt management; and
- planning for the future, including
- some of the unknowns of the future, undertaken and monitored.
Family budgeting can be an effective part of this process; and helping children to learn the skills of saving for a treasured possession; caring for it once obtained; and dealing with the consequences of its loss, damage or redundancy will help them to manage their financial position as they develop into adulthood.
Continuum Financial Planners support Intergenerational Financial Literacy
Your children need some help with financial skills and responsible financial management of their affairs? Consider engaging an experienced Continuum Financial Planners adviser in the process.
This may start with a wealth management strategy for yourself: to make an appointment with one of our team –
- phone our office (07-3421 3456), or
- at your convenience, use the linked Make A Booking facility.
(This article was originally posted by us in August 2011. It has occasionally been refreshed/ updated, most recently in January 2025.)
