Regardless of the age of your kids, from toddlers to teens, it’s never too early or too late to start talking about money. But where to begin? It’s not always intuitive. Here are a few tips to get you in the right frame of mind and steer you in the right direction.  More

You need a cup of coffee, and you want a triple-grande-mocha-two-splenda-latte. Your son needs a new baseball bat, but wants the new-edition bat that all the kids have. Your daughter needs some new school clothes, but she wants those designer jeans.

Let’s face it. The line between a ‘need’ and a ‘want’ can be pretty grey, for kids and adults alike. You’ve probably experienced a child dramatically (and possibly in tears) exclaim, “But I NEED it!” over something that has made you laugh or even cringe a little. The good news is that we can help our children understand the difference between a ‘need’ and a ‘want’. And they’ll be better for it. More

Ian's Spend, Save, Give jars

When Columbia mother Catharine Aitken’s oldest son Ian turned five, she decided it was time to start giving him an allowance and with that she wanted to also incorporate lessons about giving.

“I’d had conversations about donating time and talents with him, but we’d never talked about donating our treasure,” remarked Catharine. “I realized how few people talk with their children about planning to give which inspired me to have that conversation with him.” More

TAG Question of the Week

“What do you think? We have a money tree in the backyard?”

It’s hard not to wonder if people really do think that money grows on trees, particularly in this day and age. Over the past several decades, our culture has really changed from that perspective. We want it now and we want it fast and we want it to be the best of the best. Oh, and when it’s outdated, we’ll just get a new one. You know, like next week. More

Most of us expect our children to complete some sort of household responsibilities, whether that’s cleaning their bedroom, unloading the dishwasher, or taking out the trash. We give them chores not because we want a clean house (ok, well, that’s part of the reason), but because we are teaching them to become responsible, self-sufficient adults.

The same principle applies for teaching our children to give. We’re not including our children in our family’s philanthropic activities simply so they’ll be aware that we make charitable donations. Rather, we hope to give them the values and tools they’ll need to become adults who care about making a difference in their world. More