Teaching Your Kids How to be Frugal
Teaching Kids about Frugality and Saving Money
by Clare K. Levison
My dad is a master of frugality. His brother often remarks that it’s “the family way.” As a kid, I thought my dad was cheap but as it turns out, he’s just smart. He knows what’s important to him and what isn’t. Those priorities are reflected in the way he spends his money. The car he had when I was in high school was the base model. It didn’t even have a radio. When I would ask him why, he would say, “I don’t need a radio in my car.” When Dad would take me to a fast food restaurant (a fairly rare occasion), he was never willing to buy drinks. “Those drinks are so over-priced. We can get a drink at home,” he would tell me. As a child, I didn’t understand it. It drove me nuts. Now as an adult, I can see that where it drove me was down a path of financial success.
