We Indoctrinate ‘Em Young
After months of the kids asking, I finally pulled the trigger and opened bank accounts for them. There's a particular app that's perfect for this endeavor, which includes a checking account, savings accounts, a debit card, and even investing. From what I can tell, the mechanical execution of this platform is pretty solid. I'll share more about this little adventure at a future date, but for reasons you'll soon see, I'm not going to reveal the name of this platform today.
One of the features of this app is an education catalog. There are videos, games, and quizzes that help teach children about financial literacy. Pax quickly found this section and began watching some of the videos. He learned about needs vs.wants, living below his means, and the basics of inflation. Yes, it was weird to have an almost nine-year-old bring up the fundamentals of inflation at the dinner table
Generally, the financial literacy pieces were solid and well-executed at an age-specific level. But then, as he began working through the saving lessons, this happened:
Which would you choose?
Retire from working early.
Live in a more expensive house.
Travel for vacations often.
This is financial literacy for CHILDREN, and we're already glorifying the race to stop working. When I say that our culture glorifies retirement and demonizes work, this is exactly what I'm talking about. It's not hyperbole.
Every single aspect of our lives pushes the narrative that work sucks and not working is awesome. No wonder so many people are perfectly content working at jobs they despise. 7 out of 10 Americans dislike or hate their jobs, yet nothing ever changes. Why? First, we're told our entire lives that work sucks......so we go into it thinking it's supposed to suck. Second, we tell ourselves that the suckiness doesn't have to last forever. If we just run the race faster and hoard more money, we can quit this stupid working stuff, get to the good part of life, and finally enjoy ourselves.
I know people who are so miserable at work that their hair is literally falling out. I know someone who is so stressed at their job that migraines have become a daily part of their routine. I know multiple people who are so drained by their work that all they want to do on the weekends is sleep. I know multiple people who are so broken by their work that their fingernails and toenails have stopped growing. People are literally dying from their work. Yet, we normalize the misery.
"Dad, what does retire from working early mean?"
I explained to him that some people don't like their jobs and would rather not work than work. So they save more money so that they can stop working when they are younger.
"If they don't like their job, why don't they just go get a different job? They can help people another way."
The mind of an eight-year-old! So simple, so straightforward, so obvious. He hasn't yet become polluted by the ways of this world.
"I think you're right, bud. They should go find a different way to help people. Work is awesome!"
Our kids deserve better. They deserve to live a meaningful life now, not just someday once they finish the retirement race. Let’s help teach our kids the better they deserve.
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