TEMPLE, Texas — It costs more than a quarter of a million dollars to raise a child in today's America. You want four, you got a million bucks? Probably not, so choices have to be made. It can be hard to tell your kids no, but in this Money Talks, our financial advisor says we have to do it.
As a member of Gen-X, I can assure you my parents had no trouble telling me, "No, we can't afford that", but these days it seems we try and find a way to give our kids what they want, but is that a good idea?
"'Keeping up with the Jones's is the correct term," Financial Advisor Rolandus Johnson told 6 News. "And again, it's one of those things where if you're comfortable and you are able to do it, I'm not going to tell you what to do with your money, you've worked hard for it, by all means go for it, but there has to be a time when you may not be able to keep up with the Jones's to say no!"
Johnson added that you are the adult. If we were in a plane, you'd put on your oxygen mask first, meaning make sure you are taking care of your finances. However, he says certainly every once in a while spoil your child.
"I don't see anything wrong with it every once in a while but trying again to keep up with the Jones's and buying every new hot item electronically, or you know, all of the fancy clothes and designer shoes and those things, we end up losing sight of the longer goal, the five, the 10, the 20-year-long goal," Johnson said. "We end up losing sight of that and find ourselves in tough situations down the road because we've spent so much money on things that we may not have made wise decisions on."
Life goes fast and we age quickly, so we need to save!
"Without a shadow of a doubt, the word 'No' is going to have to be something that you get comfortable with and get comfortable with it quick," Johnson said. "I think my wife and I, our big thing is we spoiled them a little bit when they were young, when things were not as expensive, right? And I don't even think that they knew the difference when they were 2, 3 years old, but as they get older, saying no helps not only you in the long run because the gift to a child or to children or the next generation is a well-funded retirement program that is something that you can pass to them."
According to a UCLA study, children hear the word "no" about 400 times per day by the time they turn one year old. Parents often say "no" to keep their children safe from harmful or unsafe situations. As they get older, kids should hear it to better understand fiscal responsibility.
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