Build Your Kids' Money Sense

When it comes to kids and money, the classic approach endures. "I definitely don't think the lemonade stand is dead," laughs Lesley-Anne Scorgie, '05 BCom, bestselling author of Rich by Thirty: A Young Adult's Guide To Financial Success.

For this summer, Scorgie offers a few other suggestions to help kids develop "three foundational principles of building wealth - saving for your future, spending within your means and giving."

1. Start an allowance. "On Sunday, give your kids a budget - say, $20 - and let them plan how they'll spend it over the five days mom and dad are at work."
2. Keep it fun. Help guide your kids' financial decisions and answer questions, but don't meddle too much. "When the $20 runs out, then it's out. It's very preliminary, but it builds an important principle: spend within your means."
3. You don't always need to spend. As children, Scorgie and her siblings never had much pocket money so they became experts at finding free fun. "We were left to our own devices," she recalls. They soon developed a lifelong love for the library.
4. Earn extra. The moment Scorgie had an allowance she began looking for ways to expand it. "We had lemonade stands, we cut people's grass, we returned bottles. It was usually short-term motivation: earn enough money to go to the pool!"
5. Give back. Keep your eyes open for age-appropriate charitable opportunities. "They could collect pledges and do a bike-a-thon to raise money for a cause," she suggests. After all, wealth isn't just about what you have, but what you can give.