Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler ,
(818) 677-2130
carmen.chandler@csun.edu

CSUN Professor Offers Tips on Making
Your Child Money Savvy

"Helping a child learn about money is a basic life skill that must be taught at home," said Martin, coordinator of CSUN's Consumer Affairs program and director of the university's Consumer Resource Center. "We can't rely on our schools to teach personal finance because part of teaching personal finance is teaching values related to money such as giving to charity or paying taxes."

Martin's first piece of advice is that it's never too early to teach your child to be financially responsible.

"Basically, you should start teaching your child about money the day they start saying 'I want,'" he said. "It's a perfect opportunity to show them that you have to work for this reward, it is not an entitlement."

Martin said a common mistake many parents make is using an allowance as a reward or punishment mechanism.

"An allowance should be something the child receives for being part of the family, something that they can use to negotiate within the family for goods and services that they are interested in. You should really not deny them of that," Martin said.

By withholding an allowance for punishment, he said, parents are doing their children a disservice by denying them the opportunity to learn how to manage their own money.

A more appropriate punishment, he said, is to deny them television privileges or playing outside.

Martin said one of the biggest tools parents have to teach their children fiscal responsibility is by their own example.

"Don't be hypocritical," Martin advises parents. "If you talk about the ills of credit, then don't be in credit debt yourself."

Martin said using an ATM machine constantly may teach some children that it's a magic money machine, or using credit cards too often may teach a child that money is just plastic.

"There are good consumer strategies such as using coupons," Martin said. "If they are used appropriately and wisely, they can save the family money and teach a child that it's not an embarrassing thing to do and not something that just low-income families do."

Martin said parents should try to teach their children good money habits in the same way they teach them to brush their teeth or not to talk to strangers or not to play with matches.

"The bottom line is that teaching your child about money is a difficult process and it's going to take a long time to yield a successful outcome," Martin said. "You need to start thinking about what you are going to say to your children before it becomes necessary. But there are resources out there that can help you."

For more information and advice, people can call Martin or the student volunteers at CSUN's Consumer Resource Center at (818) 677-4726.

CSUN has about 27,000 full- and part-time students, offering 48 different bachelor's and master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is celebrating its 40th anniversary and is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley.