by Nick Somoski

Created on: June 24, 2009

As a father, I want my children to be smart with their money. I believe teaching children the value of saving their money is very important, especially in this economy. I believe every child needs to be taught at an early age the basics of what to do with their money. My father taught me, and now I teach my children.

Every Saturday morning, I do my "banking." I balance the checkbook, pay off the bills, get that week's money situated, and go to the bank. And every Saturday morning, my children will come downstairs to say good morning to me, and I'll explain something new to them every week. Every week, I try to put as much money into my savings account as possible. Of course, I show my children this - I want them to know that saving for your future is an important responsibility.

From time to time, in order to teach them about savings, I will show my children my checkbooks. We'll start off going back to my very first checkbook. I opened up my savings account when I was 15 years old. From that point on, I found myself a job and added to it every single week. By the time I was 18 years old, I had over $5000 in it. As the years went on, I found a better job and a bigger paycheck. I got married when I was 23 and I needed a house.

I was lucky, because I was the only person I knew who could actually afford to buy a house. I had $20,000 in the bank, more than enough for a down payment. I loaned the rest of the money from my father, bought my very first house, and paid back my father within 5 years.

I tell them this story, and I emphasize everything I say. I want them to listen to me because I want them to do the exact same thing. I want my children to understand exactly what you can do if you save up enough money. I have never been a believer in spending all your money. Although many economists today insist that we spend our money, you need money for your future. I want my children to have money for their futures.

So, I went out and bought all of my children a piggy bank once they reached the age of 10. That was their birthday present for the year. From then on, I made them continually put money in it. They all get an allowance of $15 a week, so I make them put at least $3 each week in the piggy bank. Same goes for birthday and Christmas money - at least a quarter of it must go in the piggy bank, per dad's rules.

They may not like me for it at the time, but I tell them why its important, and once they need that money, they'll be amazed at how much they've saved

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