“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.”

If our kids ever needed their parents’ money advice, it’s now! For more info on kids and money, click Money Sense for Kids. And, read on for money tips from Women & Co…

10 Tips for Teaching Kids About Money – Women and Co.

Lisa Caputo, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Women & Co., and Linda Descano, CFA®, President and COO of Women & Co., offer the following money tips to help women teach their children about financial responsibility, sharing, and the connection between money and values…

1. Be a positive money role model. Children absorb values by observing adult behavior. Set a “money example”, and model a healthy attitude toward work, earning money, spending money, and donating money. Keep the role of money in perspective in the family and don’t use it as a means of comparing yourself to others.

2. Understand your kids’ environment.  Try to unearth the experiences your kids are having with money among their peers. Values, attitudes and beliefs are continuously evolving so it’s important to help your child interpret what he or she may be hearing, seeing, and feeling.

3. Establish good behavior – give an allowance. As soon as your kids are ready, set up an age-appropriate allowance for children and a schedule for dispensing it between savings, spending, and giving.  For teens and college students, consider giving them an allowance to last several months and let them allocate it over time.

4. Talk about money with your kids.  Talk openly about money in the family; don’t treat money as a taboo topic.  A candid, honest and ongoing dialogue about money in the household can help kids develop healthy attitudes and learn valuable lessons.

5. Make talking about money fun! Talking about money doesn’t have to feel formal or dull. Window shopping and trips to the library can teach important lessons about needs vs. wants and borrowing. Many classic board games like Monopoly, Life and Payday are springboards for basic lessons in finance.

6. Practice money tips as a family.  Create a “family fund.” Saving toward a common goal, such as a vacation or donation to a charity, offers children the opportunity to get involved with conducting research, creating the budget, and more. Grandparents and relatives can be invited to join the fund too – and it all contributes to teaching kids money skills. For more tips about teaching kids about money through role modeling, read Being a Financial Role Model.

7. Give back to the community. Help your kids determine how they would like to contribute their time by showing them their options. Perhaps someone in your family is musically talented and can arrange a performance for people at a local hospital. Or, use the skills of the entire family by serving at a soup kitchen or helping to build a home for a family in need.

8. Be fair. While you may not be able to be completely consistent between kids because of differences in ages, do make every effort to avoid comparing siblings or creating competition about money, savings, or spending in the household.

9. Accept money mistakes and celebrate success. Protecting children completely can lead to financial problems when they are adults, so allow them to make mistakes. But, do set limits and make rules – and remember to celebrate their successes!

10. Be patient. The results of your efforts to teach your kids about money may not be apparent until much later on in your children’s lives. Trust that you’re doing the best you can and take the setbacks in stride. 

Do you remember the lessons your parents taught you about money when you were a kid? I welcome your thoughts below!

For more info about teaching children about money, visit Women & Co..

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But, getting another diploma, degree or certificate isn’t the solution in all situations…

“Going back to school makes sense only if it is a necessary step in a well-conceived career change,” writes Orman in The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke. “Otherwise, it’s just a bad excuse to get out of a situation that isn’t working for you.”

For more solid money and career advice, click The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke by Suze Orman. And, read on for tips on successfully changing careers, some of which are based on her book…

How to Successfully Change Careers – Suze Orman

Think career, not short-term job. When I first started freelance writing (I’m The Adventurous Writer), my husband kept talking about my “writing career.” That freaked me out at first, but then I began to think about my writing that way…as a career, not just a dream, goal, or way to pay the bills. It changed how I organize my workday, what I focus on, and what types of magazine assignments I accept.

Learn how to cope with failure – and build your resilience. Successful women fail a lot – and they bounce back a lot more! Learn how to overcome failure, recover from setbacks, and focus on your long-term vision. Expect that you’ll have to struggle to achieve your goals…because good things rarely come easily.

Make sure your choices take you in the right direction. Before you decide to take a class, quit a job, accept a promotion, or take on a new client, ask yourself if that choice moves you towards your long-term career goals. Avoid the inclination to dismiss your needs to make other people happy or fulfill their expectations (read Letting Go of Other People’s Expectations – Maria Shriver for help with this). Surround yourself with women who are where you want to be…or who are getting where they want to go.

Build a financial cushion before starting a new career. “If your new job involves going back to school, even part-time, or taking a new job at lower pay, I want you to take the time to build up a bit of a cash cushion to help you through the transition,” writes Orman. When you’re leaving a job you hate or that doesn’t suit you, the last thing you need is create financial stress! So, scale down on the extras and focusing on pursuing your passions.

Aim for the right opportunities – not the best money. “The right job at the right company in the right field is your goal early on,” writes Orman. “Follow your passion. There will be plenty of time to make money down the line.” Of course, this works best when you’re not struggling to pay the bills or feed your kids! Read 7 Unusual Tips for Spending Less Money for a different perspective on saving money when you’re starting a new career.

Don’t rely on the internet if you’re changing careers. If you post your resume on job sites or email it to potential employers, you’ll be lost in a sea of blurry faces. Instead, visit the people and places you actually want to work with or for. Make phone calls. Your computer is fabulous for research – but successfully starting a new career requires face-to-face interaction.

What have I missed? If you have any questions or tips on successfully changing careers, please comment below!

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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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The “See Jane Soar” life lesson: you have to leave your comfort zone to earn money if you want to pursue your passions! The successful woman: Amelia Earhart. She was an American aviatrix – female pilot – who took risks and forced herself to do things she didn’t want to do, just to earn money to pursue her passion – her infamous flying career. 

It’s debatable what Earhart hated more: not being able to fly because she had no money, or performing like a circus pony for the public. She had to force herself to play to the crowds – but her husband, however, loved the spotlight. In Amelia Earhart: A Biography, Doris Rich writes, “If G.P. Putnam needed to bask in her limelight, she needed him to maintain that limelight.”

Here’s how Amelia Earhart earned money to pursue her passion for flying…and two life lessons you can take to the bank! And, if you’re a woman who wants to earn more money, click on Women’s Way of Earning Money by Cynthia May Westover Alden for some money making ideas.

Earning Money to Pursue Your Passions - Amelia Earhart

1. Get out of your comfort zone. Earhart reluctantly married publishing magnate George Palmer Putnam in 1931. She wrote him a letter stating that marrying him was “as foolish as anything I could do” (this, from a woman who flew alone over vast oceans through fog, rain, and darkness at 10,000 feet, inhaling gas fumes, barely eating or sleeping). After the wedding she insisted on keeping her full name – “Miss Amelia Earhart” – for business and writing purposes. To earn money for her flying “hobby”, Earhart forced herself to take action, even when it scared her. And for you to pursue your passions, dear reader, you too will need to leave your comfort zone.

2. Be prepared to work hard. Earhart feared marriage was a cage that would prevent her from working, but her concerns were groundless. She worked. A lot. Her pockets weren’t deep enough to pay for the planes, fuel, licenses, contest entry fees, flight arrangements, and navigators that her record-breaking flights demanded. So, Putnam kept Earhart jumping through never-ending, increasingly demanding hoops: speaking engagements, media interviews, professional dinners, new business ventures, press-friendly junkets, photo opportunities, and book signing tours.

Fame brought money, which gave her wings to fly. Earhart worked hard to make money so she could pursue her passions…and it gave her wings to fly. 

Are you finding it difficult to pursue your passions because you don’t have enough money? Do you have any suggestions for other women about earning money to pursue their goals? Comment below!

For more info about Amelia Earhart, go to the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum.

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