What I wished I had learned about finances as a child

Certainly childhood should be filled with fun and frivolity, but there is room to squeeze in some important life lessons, too. Miss that window, and your child may grow into an adult who is clueless when it comes to financial basics.

For a time, that was the case for Christine Bae of Algonquin. A full-time mother of two now, Bae says it took some time for her and her husband to figure out the whole budgeting and savings thing.

"When I was working, it was different from now. Then, it was about credit and debt ratio," says Bae, a former accountant. "But now it's about what am I spending, how do I budget and how can my sons get the things that they want without me paying for it?"

Right now, Bae's life centers around her resourcefulness, but life had not always been that way. "I grew up spending. My mom was a big shopper, and I didn't know how to save," says Bae. "Basically, I got whatever I wanted."

But life has taught her to tweak that message for her two sons, ages 14 and 16. As a parent, Bae wants them to "save up for the things they really want, and consider the balance. I didn't see the value of that at their age," she says.

While she does dote on her sons from time to time, it's just to an extent. "If they want new pants, fine. But if they want new designer jeans, they have to save for it or work for it. We can't just give it to them. They have to earn it," she says.

Joan DeGroot of Maple Park knows this lesson well; in fact, she grew up being a "pretty good saver." But not spending at all isn't quite the same as learning how to budget. And, that's a lesson that DeGroot says she may have missed along the way - as well as the Christian practice of tithing. "I didn't always understand the idea of 'save some, give some and spend some,' " she explains.

DeGroot owns the pet grooming service, Amy's Wild Hairs, along with her only daughter, Amy. She believes there's a lot young children can learn about financial basics. "Young kids get so much money," said DeGroot, who also has two adult sons. "Teach them to live within the means that they have. Do an envelope system, where they put what they have in it, and when it's gone, it's gone. Teach that there is not an endless supply. I wish I had put a little bit of money away in stock."

Personal trainer Wade Merrill didn't have to think twice about what he wishes he had learned much earlier in life: "It's a no-brainer for me," said Merrill, who recently opened a personal training gym, Precision P.T., in Hoffman Estates. "The most helpful financial information anyone could learn is how to budget properly. It's like having a map. You use it when you're not sure where you're going and don't know what road you're taking."

That analogy is personal for Merrill, who admits that it is something he has learned in more recent years. "It wasn't until I met my wife that I actually learned to budget and to project my finances," he says. "Before then, I took it month by month, or day by day. Over the four years of our marriage, I've learned more about financial planning and advice than ever before."

Growing up, Merrill says his mindset was that whatever money he had was his to do with what he wanted. "Setting money aside and the whole concept of saving, I just didn't do it," he recalls. "From the time I was a kid, if I had it, I spent it. Saving, putting aside money and being smart and intentional were a total new flip of the coin in my life."

He advises parents to start while their children are young, "so that they can learn early on to be fiscally responsible."

But not everyone struggled with money matters early on. Chris Leo, a plant manager who lives in Bartlett, says he grew up being frugal and budget-conscious. "I was one of those kids who worked, with the mindset to pay for college," says Leo, whose early jobs ranged from baby-sitter to stock boy to golf caddie. "When I was in high school, I saved in a savings account and invested in the stock market."

He now advises others to start saving early, especially if college is in their children's future, because "school debt is really a tough one to get out of," he says.

And the life lessons he learned from his dad, he now passes along to his children, ages 11 and 13. "My father taught me to always plan for the future and to work hard for everything you do," says Leo, "and hopefully my wife and I are teaching our children that, too."

Bernard J. Schorle, CPA and owner of Augenstein Accounting & Consulting Inc. in Bartlett, says financial accountability is applicable at any age.

He advises parents to spend less than they earn and to pass along the following messages to their children:

• Pay yourself first: Take 10 to 15 percent of the money they earn and put it away in a savings, brokerage or retirement account at an early age. The power of compounding interest is astonishing.

• Avoid debt: Get in the habit of spending less than you earn; you don't want to still be paying for a pizza you ate in college five years ago.

• Focus on goals: Get your children in the practice of making goals and also writing them down, so that they can review them and be reminded daily.