GRAND Magazine - Spring 2020 - 12

grand
moneyfinance

We Have Spoiled Our Grandchildren,
Now We Have To Fix It!
BY NEALE GODFREY

in this world, especially one that presents them with so many
economic challenges?
Skyrocketing costs of education, impossible student debt
levels, and staggering home prices are just a few issues our
grandchildren face in the future. I can go on and on, but I'm
depressing myself! We all remember the days when we could
work our way through college. This is my history and, frankly,
it wasn't that big of a sacrifice. Today, it is impossible for our
grandchildren to even consider that option.

Have we really prepared them
for the current financial facts of life?

A
36
12 GRAND

s a grandparent, the biggest joy is to provide your
grandchild with all of the love and protection in the
world. One of your fears is: Will they be able to survive
JANUARY
FEBRUARY 2016
SPRING
2020

Have we ruined our grandchildren through entitlement?
The resounding answer is, "yes." Our grandchildren have been
raised to be "entitled." Our offspring whine for things and ultimately get them. In fact, I was involved with a study conducted
over 20 years ago about the "Nag Factor," and cited it in my
book, Money Still Doesn't Grow On Trees." The study showed
that kids could nag their parents nine times before they would
give into the demands of their children and buy them what they
wanted.
Today, it is the same scenario; our kids feel that they
live on Earth and therefore entitled to get what they want.
Unfortunately, this is being reinforced...by us! In our day, you
may have "hit up" Mom once to nag for something, then be
daring enough to move on to Dad. He may have said, "Go ask
your mother." If that was the situation,"no" was the final
answer. Entitlement? If your parents didn't have the money, or
didn't want to buy you something...case closed.

What you can do to help raise financially
responsible grandchildren

First of all, talk to your children to get their buy-in before you start
money lessons. The first lesson is to teach the grandkids that the
only way to get money is to earn it. Hopefully, your children have
started a simple allowance system in their home. The kids will do
chores and earn and budget their money. There are two types of
chores in any home: Citizen of the Household chores, where they
pitch-in and work for no money, and Work for Pay Chores.
Grandparents can set up an abridged system when the
grandkids visit. Give them odd-jobs to do, like; watering plants,
sweeping the walk, bringing in the mail, shoveling snow, feeding the pets, dusting a room (you get the point!). Have them
spend about 15 minutes for each job and pay them $1.00 per
job. Allow your grandkids to give 10% of what they earn to
charity and then I bend the rules on the rest of the budget and
let them spend the rest. Take them to the store, so they can use
their hard-earned money.
You are setting the stage for a healthy attitude toward
money where they can joyfully. Earn, Save, Spend and Share and
never confuse Net Worth with Self Worth.

Neale Godfrey is a New York Times #1 Best Selling
Author of twenty-seven books all empowering families
to take charge of their financial lives. She has appeared
on Oprah, Good Morning America, Today Show, and
CNN, among others. She has two wonderful kids and
two even more wonderful grandkids.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0994809700/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0994809700&linkId=c0cf2342749a51234e00421ef2df453e https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003B6QYSW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B003B6QYSW&linkId=74a78ba0a510c9871c2e38f745d59213 http://www.nealgodfrey.com

GRAND Magazine - Spring 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - Spring 2020