Help your children build wealth at each stage of their lives by teaching them to become investors and not just consumers only.

You can begin in pre-school. Teach them to put away their toys. This teaches responsibility. They've grabbed something that's fun and now they have to place it where it belongs. When our 1-year-old granddaughter puts away a small toy or the items back in my wife's purse, we clap our hands. Fun without responsibility means they'll simply pursue immediate self-gratification that's the "spend now" mentality!

During elementary school, tell them inspiring stories of people who worked hard, saved their money and built wealth. I still remember when I was in either 1st or 2nd grade sweeping up in my parents' driveway and my grandmother found a penny. She put it away and said families like the Mellons (of Mellon Bank fame) built their wealth by saving their pennies.

Give them a regular allowance and divide it into a "Fun Money this Month" jar and another that's "Save for Something Big" jar. Say you give $5 per week. Maybe $3 goes into the "Fun Money" jar and $2 goes into the "Save for Something Big" jar which they can't touch for 6 months or longer.

In junior high school, teach them about investing versus credit card interest in a simple way. Use a story and pictures to highlight the point. Say they worked to make $100 and they invest the money in a company. This is the premise behind stocks or mutual funds. Then, when the company makes money they get paid $1 a month. In a year they have $112 or they've earned a 12% gain. They have this money in addition to other money they've earned. You can show them what they'll have at the end of 2 years. Then go online where there are many easy to use financial calculators and show them the power of compound interest.

Now, compare their "ownership" in a company to borrowing money from someone who charges them 12% interest. Say they need $100. So instead of working they borrow the money. They're in "debt" or in the hole for $100. Now, they have to pay an additional $1 a month on top of paying back the full amount. So, in a year they've actually spent $112.

Ask them which position they would rather be in.

Remember, facts tell and stories sell. Put tough financial concepts in to a story form and they'll recall the lesson even years later.

As they enter high school, they're teens and they may be less willing to listen to you. But show them a good investment web site like www.Investopedia.com.

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