Although I did not grow up in poverty, I also wasn’t born into wealth. My husband jokes all the time about how I grew up “rich”, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I am truly blessed for the experiences that I had as a child but, I also wish money management was explicitly discussed. However, I did pick up money habits by just observing my parents even with the absence of intentional financial literacy. But managing wealth takes this entire concept to another level. We are going to have to be 100x more intentional about preparing our children to manage wealth than hoping they pick up our good money habits. Especially wealth that is expected to be transferred from generation to generation.

Let’s talk…

Openly discuss finances with your children by explaining the what, why, and how behind your financial decisions. Help them to understand the importance of the legacy you are leaving and hold them accountable for adding to the legacy they will pass on to their children. Remember, the ultimate goal is to pass on financial assets that are built upon with each generation within the family. I have frequent conversations with my son about our financial decisions, the mistakes we’ve made, and how we plan to recover from our mistakes.

Mission: Generational Wealth

Create a family mission statement. This should become a tradition, something that everyone in the family lives by. Family mission statements provide a sense of unity and purpose. It creates a bond between each generation to support the next by assisting in each members’ growth, for the greater good of the family. It is a way to ensure that everyone is committed to the success of the family.  

In Family We Trust…

Most wealthy people are worried that the next generation will feel entitled and lose the family fortune. Set up a trust and make a plan to help your children manage money. While you are living, you can distribute money, assets, and opportunities as you see fit. If your child has a difficult time managing money or fail to produce hard work because their sense of entitlement, make them work for it and distribute assets based on the worked produced. Create a trust, so that when you pass on the money is distributed in a way that is not handed to them but they are rewarded for their hard work and contribution to ensure the legacy lives on.

OJT…

Begin to give your children opportunities to manage money at a young age. Encourage your child to start a business, or reward them monetarily for their quality of work. Once the money is received, start to help them manage it. Help them create a budget, “pay bills”, save some, invest most, and spend little. Give your children hands on experience to manage money before you hand them a wealth of money. 

We encourage our son to start a T-shirt business. We purchased the equipment and encourage him to create screen print designs, market and promote them in school, and sell them to his friends. We also avoid giving him monetary rewards for expected chores but, he is rewarded for exceptional grades or going above and beyond his chores (like cutting his grandparents’ grass, washing my car, cleaning out the cabinets, etc.). Once he receives his monetary reward, we direct him to put a portion away into savings, a portion for “tax” (we actually store his “taxes” in a savings account), and a small portion for spending.

The Reward

Last summer my son went to Universal Studios with my brother and his cousins. Since I would not be in attendance, I gave him an assignment to manage his money during the trip and the money he brought back home, I would double it (our form of investment). I received call after call of him analyzing the value of the items he wanted to purchase. He was so intentional about getting the “best bang for his buck” (his words not mine) because he understood the value of “paying bills” (his food), saving/investing most, and spending little. I was the happiest mommi ever!

Your children are smarter than you think. Start instilling the value of money management as early as possible. I actually wish I would have started preparing my son to manage money much earlier in life. But it’s better to start now at 12 than not at all. Remember, we are breaking the generational curse of scarcity and wealth disparities. We will become millionaires which will be inherited by our children. We expect our children to be good stewards of the money and multiply our contribution to this generational wealth. But first to ensure the effectiveness, we must secure our legacies by teaching our children about generational wealth, setting them up for wealth, and preparing them to manage wealth.

Thank you so much for your engagement in this series. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. I would love for you to follow my journey to build generational wealth on Instagram.

With Love and Prayers for Prosperity to your family,

Mommi Mykal