Getting the Kids Into Investing

Life is becoming ever more expensive and if you’re quailing at the prospect of sending two or more (or even just one) of your children to college, then you need to woman up and encourage them to pay at least some of their own way.

Not only that, but you need to start them off early. Not in the same way as they did in Victorian England by sending them up chimneys to clean them – instead you can send them to this website to learn all about investing in precious metals.

Investing in a physical commodity is a good way to start, because your children can see, touch and smell (but preferably not chew on) their possessions. They’re tangible and they are theirs, so they’ll seem a lot more real and understandable than shares or mutual funds, for example. Here’s some more tips on raising a mini-magnate…

It’s never to early to talk about finance
As long as your child is old enough to understand the concept of money and value, then they’re old enough to learn about investing. Having their own coin collection or financial portfolio can be really rewarding and interesting, especially when they’re gaining in value. Even if you just open a simple savings account for them they can see how much the interest earns them each year.

Explain how their money and their metals are “working” for them
They’ll love the idea of their money beavering away while they’re at school, or while they’re asleep and you may find that they want to check their balance every day.

Get involved in the research
If there’s one thing kids love, it’s hitting up the internet to find stuff out. Start off with their favorite companies – looking at how their shares are doing, or if they’ve brought out any new products or games – as well as looking for the coins or bullion they’re into, then slowly expand this to more abstract and technical investment concepts as they get older.

Make sure that your child knows it’s a long-term process
When you’re young, a year seems like an eternity, so don’t expect your children to really get the idea of planning for ten or 20 years into the future. You can, however, show them how your investments are doing, especially if you’ve had them for a number of years. It’s also time to bust out the compound interest calculator and play around with projections –
let them see how patience pays off.

Inculcate good habits
Your children’s brains are developing, so if you can help them to develop good financial habits, as well as a great sense of patience, then this will probably carry over into adult life. Even if it’s as simple as checking their shopping receipt for multiple-buy discounts and putting these amounts into their savings accounts every week, they’ll be storing up money that will work for them.

Make it fun when you can and then when it’s time to get more serious,
they’ll have all the right tools ready and waiting.