How can we help and educate students to become good stewards?

Question

Many students mindlessly and carelessly spend their money that their parents have hard-earned.

Answer 1

Get the government to start setting a good example!!! They hardly encourage us to save by the loans they dole out left right and centre, and also by the taxes they slap on savings that we might have in the future!
Student Loans.... it's no wonder some students don't learn how to support themselves when they can get loans SO easily! (I'm student myself, I'm allowed to say this!). An aqquaintance of mine is already £24,000 in debt from student loans, and has only done 3 years at college and is planning on doin 2 further years at university at least! Unfortunately it is unlikely that she will ever be in a position to pay them off fully.... at least not for a very very long time. She could quite easily have supported herself by getting a part time job while at college, but because the government make loans so easy to get she had no incentive to do so.

As for saving money.... it's a fabulous idea....but it seems the government want to punish us for it! Not only do we get taxed on income (which is fair enough) but if we save that money after income tax- we get taxed again on the interest we make! Hardly fair, and hardly encouraging of saving!

Even further than that, even if we do save for the near future- saving for the long long term? No, doesn't seem we should do that either- not unless you can afford to give 40% of your life savings over to the government through inheritance tax!

So, yes, I do agree that we need to help and educate students to become good stewards.... but until our government stop punishing us for being so, and stop helping us into such bad spending habits in the first place, it's not looking promising!

P.S I do realise, as I hope you do, that some students are in fact good stewards- I would kind of like to think of myself as one. Many students do as I have done and work to support themselves through university, without taking handouts from parents or government. So it is possible, if sadly not common.

Answer 2

Because their parents think it is OK, too. Did you see Oprah this week? She had programs about finances all five days, some of it was about kids and parents..The parents feel guilty about something or another, or feel the kid deserves all the stuff, and the parent[s] drive the family to bankruptcy to buy the kids more stuff. Same old thing, the parent does not teach, so the kid does not learn anything but how to get more stuff out of mom and dad.
Oprah and the psycholigist person [sorry, I do not remember her name], said this: By giving the kids money without teaching them about money or earning it, [and driving the family to bankruptcy], we are not showing the kids we care about them, we are showing them how we do not care about them.
Then she asked the kids about how they feel about getiing the money, and how they felt about their mom. They said sometimes their mom says yes, sometimes, no, but she can ususally be wheedled into saying yes. This shows a mother who is not asking for respect, her kids ignore her because she never takes a stand, and they do not trust her because the yeses and noes are not consistant. they do not feel loved, they feel ignored. It is almost like saying, here is some money, now go away.
And here is a story I heard from a gradeschool friend a couple weeks ago, before the Oprah shows. We had a friend in gradeschool, she was nice, and had a lot of friends. She was pretty, had nice clothes, lived in a nice house, etc. We had just located her after many years, she had married and moved away. She was telling my friend of how her parents never cared about her when she was growing up, they never attended school functions, just bought her things. The neighbors were going to a school function, and she asked to do with them, it was the school open house, and the parents, teachers and kids got to all meet informally, to talk. The kids always had artwork and papers out on display. It was a big deal, at least to us kids..
We never knew she wasn't loved. She looked loved. And her case was exactly what the show was about.
So, hopefully, some of the parents saw the show and recognized themselves, and will do something about it. Miss Winfrey got a lot of publicity lately, about how she is the new american guru. She has a lot of influence in our culture. We all needed to listen to that show. Maybe she will repeat it.
And parents, listen up, if you do not teach your kids, they will not know. It doesn't matter what it is,money, behavior, manners, whatever, the kid will not know. And when they get older, they will get information from wherever they can get it, and get love and attention anyway they can. From the media, from their friends, from a gang, from the local drug dealer, from a radical group,anywhere. It ought to scare us.
Thank you for this question.

Answer 3

Easy come - easy go. Parents would help this world more by forcing their children to work for their money, even if only around the family home. They would take better care of it then.

Parents should also take their children to hospitals, shelters, soup kitchens and nursing homes so they can see the sadness in life and feel compassion for others.

In this manner, they would learn gratitude at their own existence and give back to the communities.

Answer 4

It should be required that all young people take courses in financial solvency and investing.

But this is not a problem that is specific to young people. Look how many foolish older people are out there just ekeing out a living. Education is key.

Answer 5

Stop spoiling them by giving infants and toddlers bright light up toys at an early age !

Answer 6

let your life serve as an example. Plus the lesson should be taught by the parents. We cannot say do as I say and not as I do to our children.

Answer 7

They can find stuff on the computar that the parents need and get money for it

Answer 8

Make them get jobs and pay their own rent.

Answer 9

Keep them away from this site!

Answer 10

organize some seminars.