Home, Your Best Training Ground

" Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
The rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender."

- Proverbs 22: 6-7 -

What a child sees and hears at home may shape his or her character and value system. Ever wonder why we almost always have a family of musicians, such as the Jackson's. In the Philippines we have the Cruz's, Manzanos / Santos and some other famous personalities of the showbiz industry.

It is no different with one handles his or her finances. The reason why the poor gets poorer or the rich gets richer is because the latter seldom speaks of how to properly handle money at home while the latter may have been teaching the proper way in handling the finances.

As keenly observed, most Filipino adults (or this may include all other nationalities) only a handful out of a hundred or maybe a thousand is privileged enough to have been trained by their parents about money, budget, spending and savings. Majority of the adults grew up and come to realized at a later stage of their life that money does not grow on trees, but it is something that one should earn and work for.

Children are often neglected by parents when it comes to discussions on family budget, spending, and savings. How then can you expect them to include their children for they too had been going through the same process.

Another good item that I picked up from the last session of the Financial Peace University is the suggested abolition of the "allowance" given to children. Instead, a commission or compensation is to be given them for every household chores or any activity agreed upon by the whole members of the family.

I see eyebrows raising on this one. You may be thinking that by giving them payouts for every household chores is like teaching them not to do their household obligations without monetary compensation. Of course not.

Aside from being a motivating factor, this monetary commission will teach them that it is how the system works outside of the household. No work no pay. In my own honest opinion, it is very important that a child should learn this principle of no work no pay as it will teach a child the true value of money. Since they work for it, they will also learn how to take care of it not to slip from their hands on unnecessary and useless spending.

What about the allowance? Is it not the parents' obligation to provide for their child's needs. Yes, it is. However, when you just plainly give money as in most parents do while coining it as "allowance" carries with it a negative connotation. The term "allowance" could easily be translated as dole outs or subsidy.

Do you want your child to grow up being dependent on dole outs? Or for the child grow up believing that dole outs from parents are but normal. This is a very severe problem among the Filipinos today, in my honest opinion.

For all the parents out there, take head of what the Lord says in Proverbs 22: 6-7. In verse 6, parents are instructed to teach your child the correct way for in verse 7, a very serious warning is given. Unless a child is trained properly, especially about money, he will surely not be a slave to the lender.

God Bless!!!