Kids & Investing

My son (sometimes referred to as "Mini-me") turned 15 and my youngest daughter is rapidly approaching the magic 18 but I realized I hadn't had a conversation with them about investing. Sidenote: props to my oldest daughter who asked for money for her Roth IRA as a graduation gift last year. She tends to be ahead of the curve in so many ways. While I know there is some good content out there for helping them get up to speed, it started me thinking about why this is so important that we do with our kids so here's what I'm thinking...

Investing is a great way to teach young people the value of money and how to make wise financial decisions. When it comes to helping teenagers get started with investing, understanding their risk tolerance and longer-term goals is key. As a parent, you want to be sure that any investments they make now will benefit them in the future and while these investments may not yield spectacular returns overnight, they should give your teenager a solid foundation for success down the line.

When your teen is just starting out, one of the best ways to get them into investing is through mutual or index funds; these can be bought with relatively small amounts of money upfront, providing exposure to an entire portfolio of stocks instead of a single selection. This helps reduce the risk since if one stock doesn't perform well, the others may still generate positive returns overall.

Another great option for teens is investing in ETFs; these funds track sector-based indexes so you can invest in specific industries or areas while maintaining lower management fees than traditional mutual funds.

When it comes to choosing individual stocks, it's important that you help your teenager understand what they're getting into - such as potential risks associated with certain companies or sectors - before even considering purchasing anything. Explain how trading works and encourage them to research different stocks before committing any money so that they feel confident about their decisions.

Finally, don't forget the importance of teaching your teenager about saving for retirement early on; this type of long-term investing (compared to short-term trades) usually has greater rewards over time since compound interest increases earnings exponentially over time as more money is reinvested back into the fund.

By taking proactive steps now, such as introducing budgeting strategies and diversifying investments and you're setting up your teen for future financial stability no matter what path life takes them!