How Personal And Financial Self Care Can Set Your Teenager Up For Success | Christina Gatteri | Episode 134

Say the word budget and watch people cringe. Why is that? Why are budgets so difficult? Why don’t we stick to them? And how can we help our kids stay out of debt while still living a good life? Certified financial planner Christina Gatteri joins Mighty Parenting Podcast host Sandy Fowler to help us understand personal and financial self care and how it impacts our lives. She shares insights about money, why she doesn’t have her clients create budgets and what she does instead. She and Sandy describe important conversations to have with our teens and twenty somethings and discuss some of Sandy’s strategies for teaching her kids how to be responsible with their money while still enjoying it.

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A Favorite Quote from the Show: 

“If they aren’t clear on what they want and how they want their money to serve them then their financial decisions will be strongly influenced by their circle of friends.”

High Points of Our Conversation on How Personal and Financial Self Care Can Set Your Teenager Up For Success:

Stress causes us to make poor financial decisions. Financial self care helps us take care of ourselves and reduces the stress and anxiety in our lives. It allows us room to make better financial choices.

Big decisions really matter. Renting the high-end apartment, buying the expensive new car, these things can lead us live with ‘golden handcuffs’. We have nice things but don’t have money for the experiences we want or have enough saved to allow ourselves options.

We use budgets as a tool to focus on something we failed at.

Generally people do alright with their fixed expenses. It’s saving for vacation, emergencies, retirement and other variable expenses that catch us.

Automatic saving is an important tool for managing money for our future.

Our kids often end up with credit card debt as they take their first venture out of the home. They underestimate the total costs of living on their own and don’t have enough money left after expenses to support the lifestyle to which they are accustomed. They end up using credit cards to make up the difference.

The largest expenses in most people’s lives are their mortgage or rent and their food.

It’s important to teach our teens financial self care. Have conversations with your kids about the personal and emotional side of money decisions. Ask them how they’re feeling about getting their own apartment/car/etc. Ask what they want their lifestyle to be, what kinds of activities they want to be able to do. Talk to them about the costs and let them outline expenses to see what options they have.

If they aren’t clear on what they want and how they want their money to serve them, then their financial decisions will be strongly influenced by their circle of friends.

Choices are priceless. Teach our kids to set themselves up so they have choices.

Share a story with them. Tell them about a time you made a choice that impacted your finances or where your finances impacted your life. Be honest with them about how you wish you’d done things differently or how you’re glad you did what you did and what that choice allowed you to do.

We need to demonstrate mindful spending for our kids.

Self care isn’t about the things you buy, it’s about the little things you do to care for yourself.

Self care helps our finances in two ways: 1.) It reduces our stress which helps us make better financial decisions 2.) It teaches us how to listen to ourselves and what we really need which allows us to spend money more wisely.

One of the characteristics of the younger generations is that they are less inclined to simply put their heads down and push through life. They want more meaning in their lives. By starting financial discussions with a conversation about their life and lifestyle we can help them tap into the internal motivation necessary for designing a strong financial future.

Our Guest Christina Gatteri:

Christina has over 15 years of experience in financial assistance. Her passion is helping young families realize financial success – regardless of the unexpected turns their life may take. She became a Certified Financial Planner to provide a variety of guidance to her clients, beyond their investment portfolios.  Christina lives in Pasco, Rhode Island with her husband Luke and daughters Olivia and Lily. She enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, gardening, and at the beach. She uses her personal experiences to find innovative ways to help her clients find the personal and financial peace they desire.  

To learn more or connect with our guest visit https://menextyear.com 

Our Sponsor:

Inward Bound Mindfulness Education—iBme— provides In-depth mindfulness programs for teens and young adults. Courses and retreats help them learn awareness, compassion, and concentration practices which develop deep listening skills, self-awareness, and communication—essential competencies for success in all areas of life. Offerings have expanded to include courses for parents and other adults; all available online for 2020.