Over the years, some parents have been asking me to speak to their children about money. I am pleased that parents are aware that a good education alone is not sufficient to ensure financial success. So the money talk is important to assist them to make smart financial decisions about their money.

I get the child to complete our risk profile analysis form. Once all the information gathering has been done and the 1-hour money talk has been paid for, we then schedule a session with the child. What we cover during this session is tailor made to suit their specific needs. I find that some kids are into property and they cannot wait to start investing in property. Other kids are into investments including offshore investments and quite a few have a keen interest in AI investments.

Every child is unique and they have different interests especially when it comes to money. Some of the topics we cover are:

1. Why it is important to have life cover, especially while they are still so young       and have no kids. Most do not like this topic
2. Why saving for retirement from their 1^st salary pay is one of the best       decisions they can ever make. They are often shocked when I insist on       spending at least 7 minutes on this subject and I feel many take the       retirement annuity just get the refund from SARS
3. Why they should no longer depend on mom and dad and should have their own emergency funds. They usually are lukewarm towards this one
4. Where to invest  money offshore for optimum growth  – they all love this topic and we normally spend more time on this topic. We talk about how to read the       fund fact sheets, where the fund invests the money, the associated fees,       the returns and performance of the funds, etc…
5. I check when they are planning to buy their first car
6. We talk about why buying property before buying a car is a wise decision
7. We talk a lot about their 1^st cars, total cost of car ownership, ratio of car       repayments / total net salary, insurance costs, depreciation, etc… – this is usually a heated discussion, especially with the boys 😊. I am happy though that most are happy to ride an Uber these days
8. I share with them  a podcast I did for young people who are buying their 1^st       properties and what is most important to know about buying property
9. We talk about good debt, bad debt and ugly debt
10. We talk about interest rates, etc…

Some companies invite us to spend a full day running a money workshop with their graduate interns. Most of these companies share with me that they do this workshop to save the young professionals from getting into a trap of getting into lots of debt especially with their first cars and to help them to make smart money decisions from the onset. In essence, I try to do in 1 hour what I do in a full day in a corporate environment.

To order a money talk for your child, email info@thuthuka-sa.co.zaor send request on WhatsApp 069 245 0228. The fee is R850 for a 1 – hour talk.