My Good Fortune
The Edward Jones advisor sat with me at our dinner table, and she then introduced me to the world of IRAs. It was that simple. At the time, I didn’t realize how invaluable the IRA tool is, but I’m forever grateful to my parents for getting me set up with one so early.
Some kids are gifted with life-changing knowledge but choose not to implement or dig into the knowledge further. Other kids are gifted with knowledge and build upon it, which is what I chose to do.
My parents also introduced me to Robert T. Kiyosaki as a kid at the dinner table. We completed a couple of books by him at the diner table. It was a ritual; after dinner, we would read 10–15 minutes of books like: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and “Rich Kid Poor Kid.” At the time, it was a dense read for me. I had to re-read the book a couple of times and finally got to the point of successful comprehension.
The key here is: I didn’t take for granted the gift of exposure my parents blessed me with. Instead, I took the knowledge and ran with it — even if my parents didn’t run with the information themselves, which is for another conversation/article.
Youth Take Money For Granted
There are too many opportunities for young people to set themselves up for success financially, but we take our youth for granted. We keep delaying our financial success by consistently erroneously prioritizing the wrong things.
Try This One Thing To Change Your Financial Future
Start investing $10-$100 a month in a mutual fund or ROTH IRA. Never pause or skip your contributions — even if you consider yourself broke. You see, the thing about investing is it’s a long game. You may not notice the results immediately, but over time, your net worth continues to slowly shoot upwards until you wake up one day mind-boggled — questioning how your net worth reached this point.
My Biggest Tip For Parents When It Comes to Kids & Money
As I dove into 50 lessons I’ve learned about money, my biggest tip for people with kids is this: Invest as early as possible, and never stop. If you are going to have a kid, open up a retirement/investment account for your kid before you even conceive the kid; that way, they can be a millionaire well before age 30.
Often, financial conversations don’t happen as often as they should in the typical family unit. Why is this? It may be because financial education is not prioritized at any point during our early education years (pre-k to college); we have to manually initiate our own financial education if we want to be financially independent and liberated, which is unusual for most Americans.
The masses tend to live above their means. The masses tend to overspend. The masses tend not to self-educate. The masses tend to delay investing. The masses tend to be deluged in debt. The masses tend not to prioritize their financial well-being.
What the masses are doing is evidently not working. So, why not be an outlier?
The first step to initiating financial success is learning what the masses do with money and doing the opposite.
50 Lessons I’ve Learned About Money
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25 Extreme Personal Finance Tips
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Don’t Compromise Your Financial Health For Your Kids
Destiny S. Harris is a writer, poet, entrepreneur, teacher, and techie who offers free books daily on amazon. Destiny obtained three degrees in political science, psychology, and women’s studies. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, or @ destinyh.com
This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any significant financial decisions.
My Parents Introduced Me To IRAs @ Age 14
Loved your article DH. Keep writing..!!