Teaching our kids about money can be tricky. We’re not exactly sure what to say and when, and money is a sensitive subject no matter who you’re talking to.
This is why I recently sat down with finance expert and best-selling author Rachel Cruze. Rachel is the daughter of finance guru Dave Ramsey and a parent herself, so she understands how important it is to teach your kids good money habits.
In her new book Love Your Life, Not Theirs: 7 Money Habits for Living the Life You Want, Rachel hits on a topic that is so important for parents to teach their children when comes to money: contentment.
Contentment is hard. Especially with the way social media has taken over in the last few years. We already felt the need to “keep up with the Joneses,” but now we can always see what the “Joneses” are up to all the time. The Joneses used to live across the street. Now we carry them in our pocket.
As Rachel explains, “We carry the ‘Joneses’ in our back pocket…I feel this need suddenly to keep up, and it’s with people I didn’t even know.”
The Joneses used to live across the street. Now we carry them in our pocket.These people are going on nice, European vacations, they’re buying their kids matching backpacks for school, they’re sending their children off to fancy, private universities. Watching these people and comparing ourselves to them is damaging not only to us, but to our families too.
“This comparison game not only affects our emotions,” Rachel says, “it affects our money habits as well.”
When you have to keep up with the Joneses, you splurge on the big Europe vacation, you buy the new backpacks for your kids, you take out loans for the fancy private university. And all of these lead to one dead end: debt. Comparison causes you to be emotionally spent and financially spent. All the while, guess who’s watching? Your kids.