Business
Having a grasp on financial literacy can make a huge difference in a young person’s life. Yet many young people don’t even start saving until they are in their mid 30s. George and Gina Plytas are a couple who have worked in the financial industry for years. They even did a stint in collections and saw first hand how devastating it can be to not have a grasp on one’s finances. They knew that they not only wanted to educate themselves, but they also wanted to educate their children about financial literacy. They coauthored the book Kids Get Rich: Teaching Children the Secrets to Wealth and Success and run the website Kids Get Rich. It’s their goal to help educate parents on how to educate their kids on understanding finances. In this episode, we talk about how important it is to begin things like saving early to create lifelong habits. George and Gina share their principles for good financial discipline and how they implement this with their kids. It’s their goal to help instill good financial habits when kids first encounter money. These habits can be used throughout adulthood. They talk about age-specific habits and share what has worked for them and others. They share their simple, yet powerful system that can help make wealth and success habits for life. Highlights from Episode 24 [00:47] Gina has worked in the financial services industry for over two decades. The majority of her career has been in talent development, knowledge, and learning. She's worked with institutions training their new hires and leaders around finances. [01:15] George currently has an IT consulting company. He also began his career in the financial services industry. He also worked in collections while he was in school and trying to make some extra money. [01:44] Gina also spent part of her career in the collections area. [02:23] The reality is that even people who work in the financial services industry make mistakes. [02:48] George and Gina wanted to make a difference in the way they operated their finances, and they were very purposeful with their children and teach them how to effectively manage finances. [03:04] They wrote the book Kids Get Rich. They wanted to write the book for their kids and for other people and their kids too. [04:01] The book is about sharing knowledge and best practices that they discovered when they started learning about finances. [04:52] Their six strategies include inspiring the spirit of advancement, pay yourself first, and starting early so positive habits become almost automatic. [06:50] The idea is to pay yourself as if you're paying a bill. [07:26] Kids get access to money in different ways. Teaching discipline at a young age makes it a habit. 50% of an allowance can be saved. Pay in divisible denominations. [09:39] Starting with physical money makes it tangible. [10:37] Pay-for-performance is a strategy to help kids make the connection between working hard and earning money. [11:40] Save for a rainy day. The impact of unexpected expenses can be stressful. Kids can use their rainy fund for their phone if it's lost or stolen. [13:53] George and Gina paid for grades. The financial reward for good grades can be effective. [15:14] The kids even set their own goals. [15:28] Strategy five is investing in your future. Money compounds and grows. Show kids what happens when you save a little for a long term. [17:47] Giving back with money and time and other things. [20:53] Find ways to give together through volunteer work. [22:17] Teach kids what you are learning. [22:49] Everyone in the house has responsibilities. There are also additional items that can be incentivized with cash. [27:20] You can share some basic monthly expenses with kids and share the math. [28:11] This is also a good way to introduce budgeting. Sharing financial information made a light bulb go off for their kids. [29:17] Money oriented games are also good. [30:08] George shows his kids his stock charts. [30:44] Some schools have programs where kids pick and research stocks. [31:31] Get two piggy banks. One is for saving and one is for spending. Save at least 50% of any money that comes in. [33:05] The book has a wealth check and helps open the conversation about money. [34:30] They are going to building workbooks to help parents work with their kids. Links and Resources Kids Get Rich Kids Get Rich: Teaching Children the Secrets to Wealth and Success