MONEY HACKS: Money Lessons from a 7-Year-Old

You don’t need a big moment or strategy to teach kids about money. Sometimes all it takes is a vacation, a $15 movie, or a lemonade stand in the backyard.

In coaching conversations with savers and families, these types of moments come up often. Real-life decisions that spark real financial learning. Because kids start forming habits early. And many times, they’re picking up on more than we think.

In this video, Alex is joined by a special guest, (his son) George. They’re on vacation, but that doesn’t mean the money lessons are on pause. In fact, this trip becomes the perfect backdrop to talk about budgeting, decision-making, and the basics of spending wisely.

Good financial habits don’t start with a spreadsheet. They start with everyday conversations. Whether it’s spending on vacation, saving allowance money, or learning about the costs behind a simple idea.

Have questions or a topic you’d like us to cover next? Money Hacks is built around real conversations with people just like you. Let us know what’s on your mind.

Video Transcript:

Alex: We’re here on a little bit of a vacation. I got a special guest with me. You know, earlier this summer, we did a workshop about teaching your kids around money. And so I’ve got my son here, George.

George: If you don’t know, our real name is Alexander Assaley—he’s a third, I’m the fourth. So we’re going to talk to you about money today. First of all, I knew you saw that song at the beginning. That was just one of my songs. I’m pretending to be a musician with my cousin. We make songs and we want to become musicians together and have these great songs.

Alex: And that’s a song you did about money, right?

George: Yeah, that’s the song we did about money.

Alex: We’re here on vacation sometimes when families go on vacation, you know, you end up maybe spending more than you thought you would. Or if you have a budget, sometimes it gets a little out of whack because expenses add up. And so we want people to be able to enjoy their life. But we also want them to have fun and make sure they’re making decisions so that they can keep money in your pocket, keep a cash flow strategy and not overspend or blow your budget when you go on vacation. And one of the things that we try to do is teach you on prudent ways to manage your money and make good decisions and understand how money works. And then the other night we were watching a movie and it was on Amazon Prime, and you wanted me to buy it for you.

George: Yeah.

Alex: And it was $15, right? And I said, well, do you want to spend your money to buy it? And what do you say?

George: I said no, because I didn’t bring any more money. I only brought $30 and I already spent it.

Alex: But even if you had an extra $15, do you think you would have bought that movie or would you have made it?

George: Just rented it for a smaller… rented it for a smaller money. Plus, I could have still bought it—I could have let him buy it. And then we get back in our real house, just like, give it… just give him the $15 dollars. But still I wanted to enjoy it. So we just rented it.

Alex: George, we also talked about how you earn money, and you were talking earlier this summer about one of the ways, as you know, a kid—maybe pre-teen or teenager—you could earn money. You can do chores around the house. Maybe you can do things for your neighbors. What else did you think about when you were going to set up a lemonade stand? Right.

George: So I was going to set it up with my friends here, and I was like, hmmm but my dad said you have to rent the lemonade stand in the backyard. And I was like, wait, dad, it’s ours. It’s not just you. It’s not. We are. I have to rent it from you. It’s like, because it’s our family.

Alex: But I was trying to teach you about costs.

George: Yeah.

Alex: When you open up a business, there’s certain costs that come along with it. Like having the ingredients for the lemonade, maybe the cups, all those different things. Right.

George: Yeah, but he was actually saying that he was just like giving me so we would know the cost if it would happen.

Alex: Making good decisions when it comes to your money is not a one-time thing. It’s an ongoing process, and helping to provide know‑how and knowledge to our children is a great way for them to learn about making the best decisions when it comes to today, tomorrow, their long-term financial goals. I’d love to hear your stories or ideas on how you teach your children about money.

George: Comment down below and subscribe Alex Assaley and give us a big like. See you next time. Thanks!