Finance Lesson #14

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Syllabus

February 12, 2010

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Bible Perspectives
FINANCIAL TRUTHS FROM THE BIBLE
Lesson #14
PASSING FINANCIAL TRUTHS TO CHILDREN

• Memory Verse: Pro 22:6

• Each generation is responsible for passing Christian truths to their children. That includes financial truths.
  • We more or less prepare children for a profession, but, unfortunately, we do not prepare our children for handling money and making financial decisions once they leave home.
  • We see in scripture that God expects parents to teach their children the following spiritual truths to prepare them for adult life:
    • –the knowledge of the existence of God.
    • –the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
    • –the nature of the Christian life.
    • –the Biblical perspective of marriage and family.
    • –the handling of money and the making of financial decisions.
• Parents teach their children these principles using three ways:
  • =1= Verbal communication.
    • Read Deu 6:6-7
  • =2= Visual model.
    • As parents live on a daily basis the financial principles of God as included in this course, they see how these principles work.
    • Read Luk 6:40
  • =3= Practical experiences.
    • The parents should give their children practical learning opportunities so that the child learns:
      • …the art of managing money.
      • …the art of wise spending.
      • …the art of the value of hard work.
    • Some practical suggestions to parents to give their children these practical experience opportunities:
      • Income
        • The parents should give a child of school age a specific amount of money to manage.
          • The quantity will necessarily change as the child gets older and can manage more money.
          • As a member of the family, the child should share in the family income even if it is a very small amount.
            • In this way the child learns that he is a contributing part of the family and when the family succeeds, he succeeds.
          • As a member of the family, the child should share in the work in the family.
            • Some of the work in the family should be without pay.
              • This teaches the child that as a member of the family he is also responsible for the general welfare of the family.
              • This teaches the child faithfulness and family loyalty.
            • Some of the work in the family should include the payment of money.
              • This gives the child the opportunity to work harder to gain money or not.
              • This teaches the child the value of hard work.
      • Mistakes
        • The parent should permit the “law of consequences” to teach the child how to handle money.
          • When the child makes mistakes and spends his money foolishly, it is important for the parent to permit the consequence of the lack of money that now cannot cover an important need to run its course. In this way the child will learn to spend more wisely and to save for things that are important to him.
          • The “law of consequences” is the best teacher.
        • The parent must allow the child to fail in his management of money so as to learn better management.
      • Boundaries and counsel
        • Parents should establish wise boundaries for a child in what the child cannot buy with his money.
          • In this way the child is protected from purchasing anything that would be harmful to him like the purchase of weapons or drugs.
        • Parents should counsel the child when the child asks for the parent’s opinion.
        • The child should be allowed to make the final decision within the appropriate boundaries.
      • Budget
        • When children begin receiving an income, the parent should teach the child how to budget his money. Use three categories:
          • Share, Save, and Spend
            • Encourage the child to write an amount from his total income under each of the three categories.
            • Encourage the child to be faithful to the amount that he placed in each category. Therefore, the parent will teach his child honest bookkeeping.
        • Gradually as the child matures in his management of money, the parents should expose the child to the family budget.
          • In this way the child becomes aware that money within the family is not without limits.
          • In this way the child learns that each member of the family is responsible for wise management of the family’s money and must not misuse his portion.
        • When the child becomes a teenager, he should not receive an allowance unless he can prove how he spent the last allowance that he received.
          • This teaches the child to keep track of money by keeping records.
      • Shopping
        • Parents should teach their children how to be wise consumers:
          • …the dangers of forceful advertising and impulse buying.
          • …distinguishing needs from wants.
          • …waiting on God’s timing by using faith.
            • By this a child learns to delay immediate gratification for a better reward later.
      • Saving
        • Parents should teach their children very early how to save money and the benefits of saving.
          • When the child is of sufficient age, open a bank account for him so that he can become familiar with savings accounts and checking accounts.
          • When his math skills permit, the parent should teach the child about “compound interest” and how it can work for you or against you.
        • Children should have short term saving goals and long term saving goals.
          • Short term saving goals give the child the satisfaction of having reached a goal.
          • Long term saving goals help the child to contribute to their future in saving for an education or a car.
            • If a child has difficulty with long term saving goals, the parents can motivate the child by matching the quantities that the child saves.
      • Debt
        • In this current age of heavy debt, it is very important that parents teach their children the value of money and how hard it is to get out of debt.
          • A parent can teach the lesson of debt by letting the child borrow a specific amount from the parent for some specific purchase.
            • Make a specific contract and a repayment schedule including the payment of interest.
            • When the debt has been repaid, have a family celebration that the child is now debt free.
      • Giving to God
        • Parents should teach their children when they are young that giving to God is very important.
          • Help the child see a direct relationship between what he gave in the church and the specific need that was met because he gave.
      • Making money
        • Parents should teach their children that making money comes from good work habits.
          • A child should be given daily work chores from an early age.
          • The parent should hold the child responsible for a job well done by complimenting him when he does it right.
        • Parents should give their children extra money-making opportunities around the house.
          • To teach the child a proper perspective, the parent should pay the child what it would cost if someone outside the family did that same job.
        • Parents should encourage their children to work periodically for other people they know.
          • Gardening
          • Baby sitting
          • Car wash
      • Prayer
        • Parents should teach their children the practice of trusting God in prayer for financial decisions and for the meeting of specific needs.
          • Your child’s prayers are as important to his life as your prayers are to your life.
      • Integrity
        • Parents should teach their children character qualities that will benefit the child’s financial future.
          • These qualities are honesty, faithfulness, diligence, etc.
• Review and Application:
  • The memory verse tells parents to train a child.
    • Parents can use the following ways to train their children:
      • =1= Humor
        • Never laugh at your child but teach him to laugh at himself.
        • Never use negative humor to train a child. Negative humor is sarcasm, and it is a tool of the enemy that destroys a person’s self-worth and his self-esteem.
      • =2= Appeal to the conscience.
        • Children have a strong conscience that tells them when they have done something wrong. A wise parent will appeal to the child’s sense of right and wrong.
      • =3= Appeal to a child’s pride.
        • A child wants to feel as though he has done a good job and accomplished what the parent expected.
        • Praise encourages a child to do right.
      • =4= Use incentives.
        • Every child values something. A wise parent will discover what the child values and will encourage the child to work for it.
        • Be sure to reward your child with special privileges when things are done correctly.
      • =5= Discipline
        • Read Pro 13:24
        • Read Pro 19:18

HOMEWORK
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• If you have children living at home, evaluate your methods of training them to be financially responsible.
  • Where are the failures in your methods?

 

• Where can you make specific adjustments to train your children better?

 

• Write what specific changes you will make:

 

• Memory verse: Phi 4:11-12