|
May
You Took Her to Work -- Now What? Eleven Ways to
Make Your Daughter Money Smart Year 'Round
1. Expect more of her. By the age of 18
every girl should be able to:
- open a savings account and save money each
month
- create an annual plan (account for money
she'll get and money she'll spend.)
- balance a check book
- make a budget and stick to it
- develop several ways of making money
Parents who do not make handling money as
expected as brushing teeth are doing their
daughters a dis-service. Remember she's smart,
she's on a quest for independence and these are the
tools she will need to live safely and well.
2. Give her role models. Sojourner Truth
once said, "If I can't see it, I can't be it."
Remember your friends are great role models.
Someone in your office or in your family is living
a life your daughter should have a chance to see
and experience. Work out a swap--you take a
colleague's daughter and she'll take yours to work
for a day. Do this once a quarter and give your
daughter a broad range of experiences and role
models.
3. Enlarge her vision. Most girls and
women have a hard time thinking in a large scale.
At Independent Means we don't think big is
necessarily better, but we know that girls who are
able to think expansively about themselves and
their world, see greater opportunities for
themselves. When you ask her what she wants to do
with her life and she says she wants to be a
doctor, suggest she can own the practice, or found
a hospital. If she says she wants to have a nail
salon, ask her if she's thought about owning a
chain of salons. Or maybe she can open the first
inter-galactic network of nail salons!
4. Shop competitively with her. Turn the
next mall stop into an afternoon of great buying
lessons. Select 5 items you will each shop for
(actual purchase not necessary) and see who gets
the better buys (make sure you each have evidence
of the "purchases" you make!)
5. Take her to a business function with
you. Maybe it's a chapter meeting for one of
your business organizations, or maybe it's a
lecture given by a business speaker--give her a
chance to experience the culture of business: how
people greet one another, what they talk about,
what they learn. Business is a culture like any
other and we all know that the younger you enter a
culture, the easier it is to assimilate into that
culture.
6. Give her a copy of the National
Business Plan Competition for Teen Women
application. Every teen is used to seeing
invitations for Miss Teen Beauty Queen, but Miss
Teen Business Queen? The young women who enter the
Competition master a process that many adult women
have yet to tackle! (call 800-350-1816 or email us
for more info)
7. Give her a budget and hand her the
opportunity to plan the summer event schedule for
the family. You want to do things together anyway,
give her a chance to think creatively and
responsibly to set up one or more family events.
Whether it's a picnic in the local park or a day
together at an art festival, if she needs to plan
the budget and the arrangements for transportation,
entrance fees, incidentals bought on the excursion,
and materials needed (like food for the picnic) she
will be a more cost conscious and responsible
person. And if she makes mistakes -- so much the
better. This is how she will learn. When teens
leave Camp $tart-Up we often ask "What did you
learn that surprised you the most?" The most
frequent response: "How much things cost."
8. Run a joint venture with her. Whether
you plant flowers to sell at the local farmers'
market, run a garage sale, or offer hiking tours
for women who want to get in shape, the experience
of working together and learning together will give
you each a new level of respect for one
another.
9. Run a business video festival for your
daughter and her friends. Rent a few videos and ask
them to critique the movies from an economic point
of view. What are the money messages being given in
the film? What did they think the main characters
portrayed that was relevant to their lives? Some
good videos to screen: BabyBoomer, Working Girl,
Rosie the Riveter...
10. Take her seriously. One of the
biggest challenges women and girls face is they are
not taken seriously much of the time. When you take
her ideas and her opinions seriously, she’ll
have practice knowing what to expect from others.
You know it's important to you--a sense of gravitas
is imprinted early -- make this a gift she will use
throughout her life!
11. Send her to camp - Camp
$tart-Up, the summer program that teaches teen
women to start a business of their own!
© 2007, Independent
Means
* * *
Some people think they are worth a lot of money
just because they have it. - Fannie Hurst
Independent
Means, Inc. sets the standard for innovative
resources for Raising Financially Fit Kids. Your
kids are developing views on money through your
actions! This month, make a note to talk about
hidden costs - the price of that trip or the car or
club membership that DOESN'T show up on the price
tag. Source: www.independentmeans.com
Contact
Us |
Disclaimer
| Privacy
Statement
Menstuff®
Directory
Menstuff® is a registered trademark of Gordon
Clay
©1996-2023, Gordon Clay
|
