我想，在我離開這個世界十年后，只會有兩個人常常想起我來。那就是亨利和漢娜。 他們是我的遺產，所以我希望他們茁壯成長 -- 當然也希望他們能深情地記起我。
當然了，亨利和漢娜是我的孩子。他們現在一個15歲，一個19歲。象所有父母一樣，我花很多時間為他們考慮，包括考慮如何才能最好地在財務上幫助他們。
盡管所涉及的款項不菲，但也不是一味給錢的事。實際上，真正重要的是價值觀的傳承。
是的，我希望孩子們在經濟上成功。但更主要的，我希望他們能夠熟練地，滿意地管理自己的財產。這樣他們才不會一輩子受財務的罪，也不會一輩子困擾于愚蠢的錯誤。
我不認為我的做法適用于所有的家長。我們都有不同的價值觀，不同的收入水平，以及各自的關于如何更好養育子女的固執想法。您很可能對我所做的一些事不屑一顧。盡管如此，以下是我的12個方法。它們被我用來在財務上幫助我的孩子們。
1. 來日方長
事實上，延后滿足所需要的自我控制，不僅僅與良好的儲蓄習慣相關。它也與其他事情相關，比如在學校取得成功，以及更好地應對挫折和壓力。
然而，這不是一項容易傳授的技能。亨利和漢娜在成長過程中用的是父母的錢，所以他們并沒有太強的動機來克制他們的欲望。我的應對辦法呢？讓他們覺得是在花自己的錢。
我的一個早期技巧，是從讀者那里學來的“汽水游戲”。在孩子們小時候，我們一起去餐館時，我會給他們一個選擇的機會：他們可以喝汽水，但不喝的話，就可以得到（省下來的）1美元。
結果亨利和漢娜喝了很多（免費的）礦泉水。
2. 捫心自問
受“汽水游戲”的成功所激勵，我試圖尋找其他方法來傳遞同樣的觀念。漢娜14歲，亨利10歲的時候我取得了突破。當時我為他們分別開設了一個附帶ATM卡的儲蓄帳戶。
從那時起每三個月，我會在他們的帳戶里存入他們的零花錢。在他們長大后，這筆存款里也包括了他們的服裝津貼。這樣一來，他們不得不學習制定為期三個月的預算。更重要的是，他們不再直接問我要錢。
相反，如果他們想要買東西，他們必須問問自己。這樣做的效果是驚人的。亨利和漢娜的消費立即變得更謹慎了。
聽著是不是象在操縱小孩子？你最好相信它的效果。不過我還把這看作是“財務自衛”。假設亨利和漢娜因為沒有學到好的的理財技能，而成長為“老賴”，并最終因此陷入巨大的債務危機，我很難想象我會袖手旁觀 -- 到那時，他們的財務問題最終會變成我的財務問題。
3. 痛說家史
除了經濟刺激，我還用家庭故事來塑造亨利和漢娜。
通過講故事，我們把價值觀灌輸給孩子們。我希望他們了解，現在他們也許算是生活在一個富裕小鎮上的一戶富裕家庭里，但我和他們的母親曾經在經濟上掙扎過。他們也很可能會經歷他們自己的困苦掙扎。
所以，我跟他們講，當年他們的媽媽攻讀博士學位時，我們一起住在布魯克林的一個蟑螂老鼠橫行的公寓里，靠著我的初級記者薪水勉強度日。我還跟他們講那輛破舊的76年雪佛蘭Camaro，如何在在路口時因為紅燈時間太長而熄火。我還追憶和蹣跚學步的他們一起去FAO Schwarz玩具店，我們的“玩具博物館”的日子。在那兒我們玩洋娃娃和火車，但只玩不買。
不講故事的話，我可以只是簡單地和他們說教勤儉的美德。但是家庭故事有沖擊力得多。
4. 嘲笑財富
我還鼓勵孩子們對炫富保持懷疑，不管炫耀的是豪宅，名車，還是名牌服裝。事實上，這種開支不但不會帶來持久的幸福，反而會帶來一大堆經濟壓力。
在貶低亂花錢方面，我可能說地過于刺耳了。但我這樣做是有原因的。亨利和漢娜算是聽著關于破舊的布魯克林公寓的故事長大的，但伴隨我長大的是一個更有沖擊力的故事，一個關于我祖父和他的四兄弟的故事。他們在40年代分別繼承了在今天價值數百萬美元的財產。他的兄弟們迅速地把錢花在了跑車和奢侈的生活上。我祖父花得慢些，把錢消耗在了馬匹和養牛上。不論哪種方式，大筆的家族財富都蒸發殆盡，元兇正是不計后果的消費。
5. 長年復利
當孩子們還很小的時候，我為他們各買了一份可變年金。這不算是一種我特別喜歡的金融產品，因為它們很多都有高得離譜的年費，而且可能對（短期內）比如說頭七年里的贖回收取后端銷售傭金。
盡管如此，市場上還是有一些低年費且無傭金的可變年金產品，特別是那些富達投資和先鋒集團的產品。此外，不象個人退休帳戶，可變年金賬戶并不需要靠固定收入來維持。所以你甚至可以給嬰兒開設這樣的賬戶。今天，我的孩子們的低成本可變年金分別價值大約37,000美元。
長久以來我一直著迷于這樣的主意：讓亨利和漢娜從一開始就在通往退休的道路上做準備。想想看：他們小時候我為他們投資的錢，可以享受六十年的延稅復利。假設8％的年回報率的話，這足以把1美元變成100多美元。而且因為提前支取所會招致的稅收懲罰，孩子們不會愿意在他們59歲之前動用這筆錢。
6. 免費增值
市場上還有比可變年金好的多的投資工具。我在幾年前得到了機會。那時漢娜在本地的餐館找到了一份工作，而這意味著她有了收入。所以我可以替她開設一個樂富（Roth）個人退休帳戶。由此漢娜將獲得免稅的財富增值。
不然，我也可以開一個普通的個人退休賬戶（IRA）。從這種賬戶提取是要交稅的，但你可以得到初始減稅。不過考慮到漢娜的低稅率，這樣的減稅并不很劃得來。所以樂富賬戶看起來是個更好的選擇。
我藏在孩子們的可變年金和漢娜的樂富IRA里的錢遠不夠保障他們的退休，特別是在考慮通貨膨脹以后。但是，我的目標從來也不是完全保障他們的退休。相反，設立這些賬戶是想讓它們成為有力的例證，以向孩子們展示：如果他們愿意安靜地持有多種多樣的低成本基金，財富將獲得怎樣的增長。
7. 回家的路
我的父母為我第一次購房提供了資助，所以我也想為孩子們提供同樣的幫助。為此，我為他們每人投資了15,000美元。
即使經過十年或更長時間的增值，這15000美元也很可能遠遠不夠支付他們買房所需的20％頭款。但是，這筆錢可以給他們提供一個經營的基礎。
我把給漢娜的15,000美元投到了一個目標日期為2010年的目標日期共同基金，而亨利的錢則買了一個目標日期為2015年的基金。買這些基金是因為我認為，在它們的目標日期到來之后的5到10年內，孩子們大概都不會買房。
我的想法是：在目標日期到來時，目標期限基金賬戶通常會有一半左右的資金投在股市里。而在此之后，它的投資策略會變得日趨保守。這樣等到孩子們需要首付款時，基金里的資金應該主要都被投資于（較為安全的）債券了。
8. 保留評分
當我的孩子買房時，他們不僅僅需要首付款。還需要擁有良好的信用評分。
考慮到這一點，今年早些時候我把漢娜列為我的Visa卡的一個聯合賬戶持有人。這意味著她原本一片空白的信用報告里被加上了我這張卡的信用記錄。
突然之間，她看起來象是一個財務上的模范公民了。這讓她能夠在幾個月后申請到一張她自己的Discover信用卡。現在我為她制定了一個嚴格的（信用卡消費）制度。每個月她都用信用卡消費一小筆錢并按月付清欠款，從而慢慢地建立一個良好的信用評分。
當亨利到上大學的年紀時，我也會帶他走一遍同樣的荒謬流程。唉，雖然荒謬，但是必要。現實是，良好的信用評分能幫助孩子們在將來獲得較低的房貸利率，較低的保險費，以及其他許多經濟利益。
9. 宣誓幫忙
大揭底：我（其實）已經離婚了。但是，即使在我婚姻破裂以前，我就已經對許多家庭為一天的婚禮花費20,000到30,000美元而感到震驚。
考慮以下事實，能為這種支出提供一個對比背景：美國聯邦儲備委員會2004年的消費者財務狀況調查顯示，96％以上的年齡在65歲至74歲之間的家庭都擁有一定的儲蓄 -- 但是，他們的這些金融資產的中間值，算上支票帳戶，股票和共同基金，僅僅是36,100美元。
為一個派對花30000美元不符合我的價值觀，而我也確保我的孩子們了解這一點。我告訴他們，在他們婚禮或者30歲生日時，不管那一天先到，我會給他們5000美元。要是他們想要一個花費30,000美元的婚禮怎么辦？他們可以去找他們的媽媽。
10. 施以援手
盡管昂貴的婚禮在我的優先級名單上排位很低，良好的教育卻幾乎排在首位。我和我的前妻很早以前就對此達成共識：我們會全額支付孩子們本科教育的花費。這也是我的父母曾經為我做的，而父母的行為往往對我們造成深遠的影響。
然而，我的慷慨也是有限度的。我告訴亨利和漢娜，如果他們想繼續讀研究生，就得靠貸款了。到時候我也許會仁慈一些。但是我認為他們應該為留在學校有所付出，所以我不會繼續全額支援。
11. 設定期望
正如您看到的，我和孩子們就錢的事已經進行了大量的討論。他們知道，大學畢業時他們將沒有債務負擔，購房首付時能得到一些經濟幫助，而婚禮時能收到5000美元。他們也知道退休帳戶的事。我還答應在大學畢業時給5000美元，作為他們闖世界的啟動資金。
毫無疑問，有些人會認為我過于慷慨，而另一些人會認為我吝嗇。很多人會質疑我的優先級。比如有些人說，他們會選擇不為孩子開設退休賬戶，從而騰出更多的錢來投資給購房首付部分。
但是，坦率地說，確切的金額并不重要。相反，我所努力做的是設立期望值。通過對亨利和漢娜詳細地說明這一切計劃，我已經讓他們清楚地了解到，我認為我（對他們）的財務責任在哪里終結，而他們（自己）的財務責任要從哪里開始。
12. 接受教育
一直以來，我也努力向孩子們傳授如何明智地投資。這是一個緩慢的過程。
舉例來說，數年前，我曾經嘗試過家庭投資競賽。我們每人選擇一個共同基金，由我每月向選出的每支基金投資50美元，然后我們跟蹤看誰的基金表現最好。我原以為競爭會引來他們的興趣，但結果并不是（我所預期的）巨大成功。也許亨利和漢娜當時還太小。
實際上，我仍堅持給孩子們看他們基金的郵寄對賬單，而隨著年齡增長他們對此也越來越感興趣。他們對金融市場也變得更好奇了：現在我已經可以在他們開始玩iPod之前，和他們就投資聊至少30秒鐘。
我希望能有足夠多的這些（好苗頭）被保留下來，而他們也能最終成長為審慎的理財者。這樣做的潛在收益是巨大的。一個財務顧問可能會每年收取價值（所管理）投資組合1％的傭金，而他推薦的共同基金又會花掉另一個1％。如果孩子們學會建立自己的指數基金投資組合，且成本僅為每年0.2％，那會怎么樣？當他們的投資組合價值達到100萬美元時，他們將只用支付每年2,000美元的投資成本，而不是雇用一個財務顧問所需的每年20,000美元。而且，運氣好的話，他們還能記得（這一切）需要感謝誰。
Ten years after I am dead and gone, I suspect only two people will give much thought to me, and their names are Henry and Hannah. 3. TALKING THE TALK 12 Ways to Make Your Kids Financially Savvy
They're my legacy, so I hope they thrive -- and I sure hope they remember me fondly.
Henry and Hannah are, of course, my children, now ages 15 and 19, respectively. Like any parent, I spend a lot of time thinking about my kids, including how I can best help them financially.
This isn't simply about coughing up dollars and cents, though the sums involved have been frighteningly large. Rather, what it's really about is passing along values.
Yes, I want my kids to be financially successful. But mostly, I want them to be competent, contented managers of their own money, so they don't spend their lives agonizing over their finances and dogged by foolish mistakes.
I am not claiming to have the road map for every parent. We all have different values, different incomes and strong ideas about how best to raise children -- and you will likely scoff at some of the things I've done. With that caveat, here are a dozen ways I have endeavored to help my kids financially.
1. WAITING UNTIL LATER
If children are to grow up to be successful savers and investors, they need to learn two key skills: How to delay gratification and how to take risks prudently. The first is easily the most important.
Indeed, the self-control needed to delay gratification is associated not only with good saving habits, but also with things like succeeding in school and coping better with frustration and stress.
Yet this isn't an easy skill to teach. Henry and Hannah grew up spending their parents' cash, so they didn't have much incentive to curb their desires. My response? Make them feel like they're spending their own money.
One of my early tricks was the soda game, which I learned about from a reader. When my children were young and we went to restaurants, I would give them a choice: They could have a soda or they could have $1.
Henry and Hannah ended up drinking a lot of water.
2. ASKING THEMSELVES
Emboldened by the soda game's success, I looked for other ways to apply the same notion. The breakthrough came when Hannah was 14 and Henry was 10. That was when I opened a savings account for each of them. The accounts came with a cash-machine card.
Every three months since then, I have deposited pocket money for them in their savings accounts and, as they have grown older, their clothing allowance as well. That way, they've had to learn to budget for a three-month period. More important, they no longer ask me for money.
Instead, if they want to buy something, they have to ask themselves. The effect has been startling. Henry and Hannah almost immediately became more careful spenders.
Sound manipulative? You'd better believe it. But I also think of it as financial self-defense. Suppose Henry and Hannah don't learn good money skills and grow up to be financial deadbeats. If they ended up deeply in debt, I can't imagine not helping -- at which point their financial problems would be mine.
I haven't just molded Henry and Hannah with financial incentives. I have also used family stories.
Values are passed down to our children in the stories we tell. My children may live in an affluent household in an affluent town. But I want them to know that their mother and I struggled financially, and that they will likely have their own struggles.
So I talk about the mouse- and cockroach-infested Brooklyn apartment where we all lived while their mother worked on her Ph.D. and we squeaked by on a junior reporter's salary. I tell them about the beaten-up '76 Camaro that used to stall if the traffic light stayed red too long. I recount taking them as toddlers to the "toy museum," otherwise known as FAO Schwarz, where we would play with the dolls and the trains but never buy.
Instead of regaling my children with these tales, I could simply lecture them about the virtues of thrift. But the stories pack far more punch.
4. SCOFFING AT WEALTH
I have also encouraged my kids to be suspicious of displays of opulence, whether it's the big house, the fancy car or the designer clothes. The fact is, this sort of spending doesn't lead to lasting happiness, but it can create a heap of financial stress.
In belittling conspicuous consumption, I may be a little too strident, but there's a reason. Henry and Hannah may have grown up hearing about the dilapidated Brooklyn apartment. But I grew up hearing a far more powerful story, about my maternal grandfather and his four siblings, who in the 1940s each inherited what today would be millions of dollars. My grandfather's siblings quickly blew the money on fast cars and high living. My grandfather blew his money more slowly, on horses and cattle farming. Either way, the great family fortune was gone, and reckless spending was largely to blame.
5. COMPOUNDING FOR DECADES
When my children were young, I opened a variable annuity for each of them. This isn't a product I particularly like, because many have outrageously high annual expenses and charge back-end sales commissions if you sell within, say, the first seven years.
Still, there are a few no-load variable annuities with low annual expenses, notably the offerings from Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Group. Moreover, unlike with an individual retirement account, you don't need earned income to fund a variable annuity, so you can open an account for a toddler. Today, my kids' low-cost variable annuities are each worth some $37,000.
I have long been captivated by the idea of starting Henry and Hannah on the road to retirement. Think about it: The dollars I invested when they were youngsters might enjoy six decades of tax-deferred compounding. That's enough to turn $1 into over $100, assuming an 8% annual return. And thanks to the tax penalty on early withdrawals, my children will be discouraged from touching the money before they are 59?.
6. GROWING FREE
There are far better investment vehicles than a variable annuity, and my chance came a few years ago. Hannah got a job at a local restaurant, which meant she had earned income. That allowed me to open a Roth individual retirement account for her, which will give Hannah tax-free growth.
Instead, I could have funded a regular IRA, where withdrawals are taxable but you get an initial tax deduction. That tax deduction, however, wouldn't have been worth much, given Hannah's low tax rate, so the Roth seemed like a better bet.
The money I've stashed in my kids' variable annuities and in Hannah's Roth IRA won't be nearly enough to pay for their retirement, especially once you figure in inflation. But fully funding their retirement was never my aim. Rather, the accounts are intended to be a powerful example, showing my children how money will grow if they are willing to sit quietly with a diverse collection of low-cost funds.
7. HEADING HOME
When I bought my first home, my parents helped me financially, and I want to do the same for my kids. To that end, I have invested $15,000 for each of them.
Even with a decade or more of growth, that $15,000 probably won't be nearly enough for a 20% down payment. But it will give them something to build on.
I stashed Hannah's $15,000 in a target-date mutual fund that's geared toward 2010, while Henry's money is in a 2015 fund. I bought those funds knowing my kids probably won't buy homes until five or 10 years after those dates.
My thinking: Target-date funds typically have around half their money in stocks as of their target date, and then they continue to become more conservative in the years that follow. By the time my kids need their down-payment money, their target-date funds should be largely invested in bonds.
8. KEEPING SCORE
When my kids buy a house, they won't just need a down payment. They will also want to have a good credit score.
With that in mind, I listed Hannah as a joint account holder on my Visa card earlier this year. That meant the card's credit history was added to her previously blank credit report.
Suddenly, she looked like a model financial citizen. That allowed her, a few months later, to apply for a Discover card on her own. I now have her on a strict regimen, where she charges a small sum each month and dutifully pays it off, thus slowly building up a good credit score.
When Henry reaches college age, I will go through the same nonsense with him. This, alas, is necessary nonsense. The reality is, a good credit score will help my kids get a lower mortgage rate, lower insurance premiums and a host of other financial benefits.
9. VOWING TO HELP
Full disclosure: I am divorced. But even before my marriage broke up, I was horrified by the way many families blow $20,000 or $30,000 on a single day of celebration for a wedding.
To put such spending in context, consider this: According to the Federal Reserve's 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances, more than 96% of households headed by someone 65 to 74 had some savings -- but the median value of these financial assets, including things like checking accounts, stocks and mutual funds, was just $36,100.
Spending $30,000 on a party is not one of my values, and I've made sure my kids know it. I have told them I will give them $5,000 toward a wedding or at age 30, whichever comes first. What if they want the $30,000 wedding? They can ask their mother.
10. LENDING A HAND
While an expensive wedding is low on my list of priorities, a good education ranks near the top. My ex-wife and I long ago agreed that we would pay the full cost of our children's undergraduate education. Again, this was something my parents did for me, and we all tend to be heavily influenced by our parents' behavior.
There is, however, a limit to my generosity. I have told Henry and Hannah that, if they want to go on to graduate school, they will have to take out loans. I may relent somewhat when the time comes. But I think that there should be some cost to staying in school, so I am not inclined to continue footing the full tab.
11. SETTING EXPECTATIONS
As you might gather, I have talked to my kids a fair amount about money. They know they will graduate college debt-free, they will get some help toward a house down payment and they will receive just $5,000 toward a wedding. They know about the retirement accounts. I have also promised them $5,000 upon graduating college, to get them started in the world.
No doubt some folks will think I'm overly generous, while others might consider me cheap. Many will question my priorities. For instance, folks have told me that they would have skipped the retirement accounts and allocated more toward a house down payment.
But, frankly, the precise sums aren't that important. Instead, what I am striving to do is set expectations. By detailing everything to Henry and Hannah, I have made it clear where I think my financial responsibility ends and where theirs will begin.
12. GETTING EDUCATED
Along the way, I have also endeavored to teach my kids about sensible investing. It's been a slow process.
For instance, earlier this decade, I tried a family investment contest. We all picked a mutual fund, I invested $50 a month in each and then we tracked who fared best. I thought the competition would grab their interest, but it wasn't a great success. Maybe Henry and Hannah were too young.
Indeed, I have continued to show them their mutual-fund statements as they arrive in the mail, and my kids have grown more interested as they have grown older. They have also become more curious about the financial markets, and I can now chat about investing for at least 30 seconds before they reach for their iPods.
I hope enough of this will stick, and they will grow up to be prudent managers of their own money. The potential savings are huge. A financial adviser might charge 1% of a portfolio's value each year, and then recommend mutual funds that cost another 1%. What if my children learn to build their own index-fund portfolios that cost a mere 0.2% a year? When their portfolios hit $1 million, they will pay just $2,000 a year in investment costs, instead of the $20,000 they would be paying if they used an adviser. And, with any luck, they will remember whom to thank.
—Mr. Clements, who is based in New York, writes the Getting Going column for The Wall Street Journal. He can be reached at jonathan.clements@wsj.com.
