Teaching Kids To Make An Investment

The first time I thought about my kids learning about finances was when my oldest daughter was heading to high school. I remember going through her class options and was excited to see one that taught about finances, how to fix things in your home, etc. Practical things. When she signed up for classes, she found out they were cutting out that class. UGH! I was terrible at finances and didn't want my kids to follow in my footsteps.

Spring forward 8 yrs later and my oldest son started talking to me yesterday about how he can't wait until he can start investing his money in stocks. I was so excited to have this talk with him because a) I'm partnering with BusyKid and b) my boys need to start NOW!

Both of my boys have jobs, yes even my 14 yr old, and I want them to be money smart! I don't want them to ever live paycheck to paycheck or worry about what retirement will look like I do. It's not surprising that nearly 80% of millennials aren't invested in the stock market. Also that 3 in 4 young women, versus 60 percent of young men, said investing was confusing. I can confirm that it's incredibly confusing.

It's important to teach our kids! The lack of financial education in schools are the major reason young Americans aren’t prepared to invest in their futures. I was never taught it in school, and neither were my kids. I would really encourage parents to give stock instead of gifts! With the holidays coming up, it's a fun way to get them started!

- Price is now $14.95 for the entire family

- They are introducing the BusyKid Spend Card, a reloadable Visa® prepaid card, where kids can move their allowance in order to spend in stores or online

- For a limited time, 2 kids of each new family will receive a free $10 stock. We want kids to learn how to invest so we decided to give them their first experience in dealing with the stock market.

Here are 5 Tips For Young Investors

Learn The Game - Investing can be a risky game. However the best time to learn how to play is when you are young. The amounts you invest are generally smaller and if you make mistakes, you have plenty of time to make up for them. There is no lack of information available on how to invest in stocks, so read up!

Earn Your Stock - Let your children earn money to invest by completing chores around the house. By using BusyKid, your children can automatically turn their allowance into investments.

Don’t Fear Mistakes - It’s bound to happen. You pick the wrong stock, pull out too soon or too late. Maybe you lose all you invested. Don’t sweat it. You’re not the first to do it and you won’t be the last. The good news is you are young and able to rebound from whatever happened. Just don’t quit!

Have Fun - Investing can be fun because unlike having your money in a bank account, you can watch your money live in the market. Follow your investments weekly to see if they go up or down. Then when you think the time is right, sell the stock and start all over again.

Family Affair - Make investing a family affair or contest. Let each family member the ability to but two or three stocks, then over a month, have a contest to see who does better. You can even spend time each night at dinner discussing how the market did and who is winning.