Getting your children involved in investing is a great lesson in financial literacy. There are a number of resources and games available to help parents get their kids excited about the stock market and investing. When you start your kids investing, you have two goals, to help them create and sustain wealth from an early age (maybe to help pay for college) and to educate him or her about the basics of the stock market and investing. Here are some tips to help your kids start investing on stocks. • Get started early: Once your child learns to count, you can teach them the basics of investing. Spend some time talking about what percentage of your income- or their allowance- should be saved for the short term, invested for the long term, donated, or spent. • Using an allowance is a good way to teach your children about responsible saving and spending. Experts suggest that parents should start giving an allowance as soon as children have a small concept of money. • Help them create a budget. This teaches them to identify needs and wants, which is the key to long term financial success. • Parents can create a ”matching” account for their children. For every dollar a child invests, his or her parents will match their contribution. • Parents can set their child up with a discount brokerage firm to help them start investing. Please note that minors can open an account in their own name. A parent or legal guardian must take responsibility for the account and all the transaction. Alternatively, parents can set up a mutual fund or a college savings 529 plan to help their children learn about investing. Financial advisors say letting children invest in a stock of their choosing, something familiar like Disney, gets them excited and interested in the stock market. • An online brokerage firm lest kids take an active role in investing, and provides a certain amount of control for parents so things don’t get out of hand. • There are also a number of online websites, filled with games and activities that encourage kids to explore the stock market and “play” around with investing. Since the first rule of investing is to invest in what you know, kids will have fun listing companies they recognize. Disney, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Hershey, Colgate, Target, Starbucks, and Nintendo are all solid stocks that children recognize daily. Other good stocks for kids to invest in are CVS pharmacy (especially during cold and flu season), Sony, and Procter & Gamble. A trip to the local mall, the grocery store or your local big box retailer can help your child identify potentially stocks and investment opportunities. Utilities are another good option for kids’ investments, since they can see them at work in their neighborhood. Financial advisors and experts believe that parents cannot talk about money often enough or early enough. Parents should create conversations about money, financial habits, and create a culture of financial literacy. Teaching a child about profits, loss, equity and debt at an early age will serve then well throughout their life. Are you looking for more information regarding stock investing? Visit http://www.smart-investing-in-stocks.com/invite.html today for more information!
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