Being a Financial Role Model – Suze Orman

The life lesson: the way you handle money is the way you teach your kids to handle it, because you’re a financial role model! The successful women: the dynamos behind Women & Co…

First, a word from money guru Suze Orman.

“We never had it as rough as the kids have it today,” says Orman. “Look at the price of a gallon of gas or a piece of real estate or a college education.”

Our children may have a tougher financial times than we did – but we can help them by role modeling excellent money habits! For help getting your financial house in order, click on Women and Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny by Suze Orman.

And, learn how to be a financial role model from Lisa Caputo, Founder, Chairman and CEO and Linda Descano, CFA, President and COO of the excellent website for women and money, called Women & Co…

“Today’s women are more involved in financial decision making – not because they have to be, but because they want to be,” say Caputo and Descano. “A recent Women & Co. study found that 63% of women are the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of their household, responsible for making the majority of financial decisions.  And women who are the CFO of their household are more likely to come from mothers who are CFOs and have daughters who become CFOs.  While only one third of today’s adult women feel they had a female financial role model, 92% now consider themselves a financial role model to their children!”

But, being a financial role model doesn’t come easily to all women.

How to be an Excellent Financial Role Model – from Women & Co

Talk to your children about money: Similar to the birds and the bees, money should be an ongoing topic of conversation with your children. It’s never too early or too late to help your children develop a strong foundation of financial knowledge.

Get financially fit:  Financial fitness, like physical fitness requires exercise.  Get a piggy bank (or make one!) and create a scenario in which your children can “work” for money, such as payments for household chores or tasks outside the household routine like wrapping presents for charities at holiday time.

Practice what you preach: The financial decisions you make today have a lasting impact – now and for future generations. To be a financial role model you must be financially responsible, so your children will be more likely to follow suit. Define your financial goals and put a plan in place to work toward them.

Create a common goal:  Get your kids involved in financial planning early by starting a family fund that will be put toward a common goal such as a vacation, gift, or a specific charity that family members would like to support. Let the whole family experience the positive end results of saving and budgeting.

Know why money matters:  Strike a balance between your family’s finances and your family life as a whole.  Your finances should support your life, not control it.  Help children build a positive relationship with money by demonstrating that money is not a status symbol, but one of the many components to building a stable and fulfilled life.

If you have any questions on financial role modeling, budgets, or even investing - please comment below!

Women & Co. is a financial resource program from Citi, dedicated to helping women achieve their financial goals. Members can read newsletters, listen to audio conferences, and find out about Master Class seminars in major metropolitan areas.

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