I often wonder…
What would it be like if all women were taught about money when they were little girls? What if Daddy didn’t always come to the rescue if his little sweetheart needed a new dress for the recital, or new sneakers for the hockey meet, or to buy something for Mommy for her birthday? What if the little girl knew how to make money with neighborhood bake sales, selling her used toys on line on Amazon, or babysitting or lawn mowing or dog sitting until she got the money she needed? Think of how self-reliant and independent she would be as an adult!
We create the young women who think they need a man to be financially secure. We can’t blame them for believing in a system that encourages and condones their finding Prince Charming to take care of them. We also teach them to live their lives on a temporary basis until he comes along. Rarely do we see young women deciding in their late twenties or thirties to build their own homes, buy their own cars, begin an investment program for their future. If we help them to see the alternative of not doing that, we might be getting a whole new generation of women who are building wealth of their own.
Not that they couldn’t have happy marriages with an equal. Imagine the super firepower in that! Less divorce, less a feeling of entrapment, less fear of aging. Sounds like a good formula to me.
Let’s start teaching them early about money. A friend, Candace McGarvey, suggested a game she uses to teach her son and her daughter about money, Bank It, by Simply Fun Games. LearnVest.com recently posted a story about The Stock Market Game, a game designed to “turn your kid into a money whiz.” And there are so many websites with or without training wheels which will at least make our daughters financially literate. Have a conversation with her when she makes some money to explain how to save and how to spend. And start early to create some good habits. Get her a credit card and show her how to work with it.
Let’s get moving on this.
We can’t turn out any more generations of fairytale princesses waiting for Prince Charming to rescue them.
