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You are awesome :) edit: if/when I have kids, I had been thinking of giving them a Linux box and a prepaid debit card, telling them, "you can do, install, buy,
by hkmurakami 13y ago
You are awesome :)
edit: if/when I have kids, I had been thinking of giving them a Linux box and a prepaid debit card, telling them, "you can do, install, buy, or do whatever you want with this machine, the internet connection, and the money, as long as it's legal". This fits in nicely with the kind of thoughts and attitudes I'd like to instill.
- xentronium 13y agoAren't you afraid they could waste all the money on some farmville (or some other game's) $50 crop growth booster?
- hkmurakami 13y agoI'd hope that by limiting the amount of money given to them and giving them ownership, that they would research and intelligently decide what to buy. Poor decisions would be a good learning experience too so it wouldn't be for naught.
- Cakez0r 13y agoIf I were a child though, my measure of a good purchase decision would probably be how much entertainment I got for my money. In that case, blasting $50 on a freemium game might not seem like a bad purchase at all. What will you teach your kids to use as a measure of a good purchase? For an adult, you have all kinds of financial responsibilities to account for, so frivolous purchases can screw you over. As a kid, you have no financial responsibility and no consequence for spending all your cash on frivolous stuff.
- kibibu 13y agoWould you have, as a kid?
- xentronium 13y agoCan't say for sure, when I was a kid, there was no farmville and no credit cards. It is more popular here to pay via SMS short numbers and there are a lot of kids spending their parents' money to boost levels of their cows. Although it might be entirely different matter, when you are responsible for your decisions and when it's your money. Only one way to find out.
- powatom 13y agoI'm not a parent yet, but I suppose I'd be more afraid they end up blowing 50k on a toaster in their adulthood because I didn't teach them the value of money early on. A $50 mistake when you're a kid is nowhere near as much of a problem as a 50k mistake when you're 30.
- xal 13y agoThe money part is brave and will likely work out. However, its also a great opportunity to teach cash flow rather then balance sheet. My dad did something really great when I was young: He paid me my entire allowance in bulk once a year. Of course the first year it failed and I bought all sorts of crap and was out within weeks. That was the idea. The year afterwards I was too afraid to spend anything because it was so painful having nothing. The year afterwards he introduced me to bonds and some stocks to help build some income.
- ryen 13y agoThat's pretty interesting. What age did that start and, if you don't mind telling, how much was given? Willing to try that with my future kids.
- saraid216 13y agoHow old were you the first year, out of curiosity?
- xal 13y ago10. He gave me adjusted for inflation ( and converted from DM to EUR to USD ) it would be 200. Essentially age * 20.
- hkmurakami 13y agoYou know, some Asian cultures (including my own - Japan) inadvertently does this through the New Years' Money Gifts given to you from your older relatives (uncles, aunts, grandparents). The amount differs from family to family, but it's not rare at all to get a couple hundred bucks worth from one person. This can add up to ~$1k easily. So kids in these countries learn (well at least some of them) to ration this big annual pay day over the year, deciding whether they want to buy comics or that hot new game that came out, etc.
- saraid216 13y agoI once refused my grandma's money. This turned into a lesson on always accepting gifts. It was awkward.
- superuser2 13y agoJust FYI a checking account and associated debit card from your bank are often free, while standalone prepaid credit card has hefty fees.