1. We are all teaching our children how to handle money. The only questions are: (i) are we doing it intentionally or accidentally? and (ii) are we teaching them good lessons or bad lessons?

2. However bad your financial past, you can start to make it better today, change your family tree, and leave the best possible legacy for your children – a good example of financial stewardship.

3. Teaching your children financial stewardship begins with teaching them how to work because work builds discipline and self-denial. Giving our children money without expecting them to work breeds an entitlement mentality. Studies show that students who work ten to nineteen hours a week actually have higher GPAs on average than students who don’t hold jobs while in school.

4. We should teach our children how to divide all income into three main categories: save, spend, give.

5. At times we should let our kids suffer the consequences of their financial decisions – if our kids don’t learn how to make small inexpensive mistakes when they are kids, they will make huge and expensive mistakes as adults.

6. Teach our kids the value of the least used word in parenting today “NO!”

7. The Five Foundations for teenage financial responsibility:

• Save a $500 emergency fund.
• Get out of debt.
• Pay cash for a car.
• Pay cash for college.
• Build wealth and give.

8. You will never get out of debt or build wealth if you have a car payment… Paying cash for a car and buying a used one is the shortest path to building wealth.

9. If you want to raise money-smart kids, you have to raise kids who are content… A heart filled with gratitude leaves no room for discontentment.

And the BIGGEST lesson of all in the book:

10. We must teach our children that they don’t own money—they are simply managers, or stewards of it. Owners have rights; managers have responsibilities. Owners think of themselves; managers can’t. It isn’t their money, so they must think of others. Owners worry over their money; managers don’t need to worry because the money isn’t theirs to begin with. Owners hold with a tight fist; managers hold with an open hand.

My own kids are not so shy, especially my teenage sons (17.9 and 16 years old). In ways subtle and not so subtle they’ve tried to find out my salary through the years, and I’ve always gone to great lengths to conceal it from them. Shona and I never do our budgeting within earshot of the kids, and I’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to hide and shred wage slips, bank statements, mortgage statements, etc. That’s right, I wouldn’t even tell them how much my mortgage was.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Then, a couple of weeks ago, I stopped and asked myself, “Why are you doing this? What’s the point in being so secretive?” I suppose I didn’t want them blabbing about it to their friends, but they’re “big boys” now.

Any other reason?

I couldn’t think of one, and realized that I was really only doing it this way because that’s the way my own parents did it. “Don’t ask; don’t tell.”

Then, as I thought more about it, I concluded that I was missing out a real opportunity to teach my kids about how to handle finances. I find it incredibly frustrating that schools spend so much time and money on teaching Algebra and Physics, and yet so little if any on teaching about how to handle time and money. I didn’t get one lesson on money at my public school. Thankfully, I entered the world of financial services and qualified eventually as a Chartered Insurer. Mortgages, Mutual Funds, and Life Insurance were my bread and butter, but that still didn’t make me an expert on personal finance and budgeting.

I feel it’s only in the last few years, mainly through listening to Dave Ramsey, that I feel I’m beginning to get to grips with debt-free living, zero-sum budgeting, and planning for the future. I don’t want my kids to take 30 years to learn that lesson.

Shocks at the Top and the Bottom
So, two weeks ago, I decided to put it all on the table. I got my two boys to the computer and took them through exactly how much I earn each month from different sources, how much tax, etc., is deducted, how much we have to set aside for fixed expenses (e.g. health insurance, mortgage, car insurance, school fees, church givings, etc.), how much we budget for variable expenses (e.g. food, clothes, gas, utilities, etc), and how much is left over each month. They were a bit shocked at the top line (one son was stunned to learn that I earn just a little more than he does in Chevy’s lube department after school). They were even more shocked when we got to the bottom line to see how little was left!

I explained how Shona and I are now working hard at keeping a daily track of our expenses, emailing every receipt into Evernote and sitting down every evening to write up what we’ve spent on index cards with running totals for each section of our budget.

It was a profitable time; I enjoyed being more open and transparent with the boys and they had their eyes opened wide to the expenses and complications of everyday living. We now pray together for God’s blessing on our budgeting and financial decisions at family worship. It all just feels a lot more “natural.”

As we continue this policy of financial openness with my sons, I hope they’ll not only help to keep us accountable but they’ll also learn how to organize their finances, budget, and plan for the future too. It also helps us all to work together on facing the looming college fees train that’s about to crush us. I now wish I’d done this a few years ago, but hopefully I’ve still got long enough to leave a good example of stewardship to them. It’s the only legacy they’ll get!

Funniest remark so far: “Well, I’m definitely not going to have so many kids!” (We have five)

Biggest benefit so far: Much less, “Dad, can I have…”

Before I was converted to Christ by His almighty grace, I worked for a large Scottish Mutual Fund, latterly in a consulting role. That was over twenty years ago, and yet last Sunday night, I found myself giving out financial advice again. This time my motive was not to make myself and others rich, but rather to help mid-late teens build a biblical foundation for handling money to the glory of God. And this time I could speak with the authority of God’s Word rather than the best computer forecasts and estimates. Here’s the outline I left with the young men and women:

Key Principles

1. God owns everything  (Ps. 24:11; 1 Chron. 29:11)

2. God loans us what we have (1 Chron. 29:12; James 1:17)

3. God says money is important (Jesus spoke more about money than anything else)

4. God will call us to account for how we use our money  (Matt. 25:19)

 Key Words

1. Study (Prov. 24:3,4)

• No one is born a George Soros.
• If someone gave you $2M today, you would buy a book on money management.
• The average American family will earn $2M in working life
• Consult with others who have a proven record of financial stewardship (Prov. 15:22)                 

2. Budget (Prov. 24:3,4; Luke 14:28)

• If you aim at nothing you’ll always hit it.
• 3% who had written goals achieve more financially than the other 97% combined
• Give every dollar of income a name and every dollar of expenditure a name

3. Save (Prov. 21:10; 22:3; Matt. 25: 14-30)

• Short-term (emergencies)
• Medium-term (major purchases)
• Long-term (retirement, college tuition)

4. Give (Prov. 3:9,10; Luke 6:38; 1 Cor. 16:2)

• Start now, even if it is a very small amount
• Church then chosen charity

5. Insure (Prov. 22:3)

• “Foresee the evil and hide (“cover”) yourself
  
• Number one cause of bankruptcy is medical bills  (#2 is credit cards)
  

6. Wait (Heb. 13:5; 2 Cor. 6:10; 1 Tim. 6:6)

• Be content with what God has given you and learn to patiently wait until you can buy with cash
• 19% of bankruptcies are filed by college students (usually caused by credit card debt)
• People spend 47% more when using credit cards than when using cash
• 88% of “Ninety days interest-free credit offers” are turned into high interest loans
• Avoid get-rich-quick schemes (Prov. 13:11)

 7. Unite (Eph. 5:22-31)

• “One flesh” means “one set of finances”
• “If you are not working together it’s not going to work” (Dave Ramsey).
• “Separate checking accounts mean one of two things, either ignorance or problems” (Dave Ramsey).

8. Repay (Prov. 6:5; 22:7)

• Repay loans as fast as you can “like a gazelle escaping a hunter”
  

9. Work (Eccl. 9:10; 1 Tim. 5:8)

• Choose a vocation in an area/interest you are passionate about and God has gifted you in, rather than something that will make you rich.

10. Audit (2 Cor.5:10)

• Review, review, review.
• Seek accountability (husband, wife, parent, friend) before you are called to account.

Conclusion

1. Above all seek the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8)

2. Lay up treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:20)