Amid the frantic pace of daily family life, it seems almost comical to try to find time to discuss investing with our kids.
Honestly, who really wants to talk about mutual funds in the precious time you have when you’re all together?
Yet, many families find a way to share their values about money and investing from generation to generation, whether they’re offering tips on being smart shoppers, making the family budget stretch just enough or opening brokerage or savings accounts for youngsters.
In my Getting Going column, in honor of Father’s Day, I reflected on the lessons I learned from my father and my grandfather.
They came from very different generations, one influenced by the Great Depression, the other by the growth and prosperity of the 1950s and ’60s. One believed in bonds and the other in stocks. Together, they introduced me to the basics of investing–and more importantly, to how to keep the whole process in perspective. While my style is different from either of theirs-( have less tolerance for risk than my dad, but more than my grandfather had-their advice continues to resonate as I plan for my own future.