How to Raise Money-Smart Kids (Even If You’re Still Figuring It Out)

What happens when you grow up below the poverty line, build a high-paying career in finance and still find yourself drowning in debt?

In this powerful episode, Molly sits down with Annette, founder of Kids Get Money, to unpack how early money experiences shape our adult financial habits, and how she went from financial overwhelm to empowerment.

They discuss how generational money patterns are passed down, what to do when you're at breaking point financially, and why teaching kids about money from an early age is non-negotiable in today’s digital world.

If you’ve ever felt ashamed about your money situation or unsure how to break the cycle - for yourself or your kids, this episode is a must-listen.

What you’ll learn:
✔️ How childhood experiences shape your money mindset
✔️ The moment Annette hit financial rock bottom (while living in a million-dollar home)
✔️ Practical steps to rebuild your finances, no matter where you're starting from
✔️ Why money coaching is the missing link before financial advice
✔️ When and how to start teaching kids about money
✔️ How to talk about tap & go, Afterpay, and digital spending with kids
✔️ One simple weekly habit to help your kids get money smart

Whether you’re a mum, aunty, carer or just someone who wants the next generation to have a better relationship with money, this conversation will give you practical language, tools and a big dose of “you’re not alone”.

This episode is brought to you by InvestorKit, Australia’s #1 Buyers Agency for 2023 and 2024. They specialise in helping investors find high-growth properties utilising industry leading AI and data driven research process across Australia. 70%+ of the properties they purchase are off-market and they have consistently outperformed national average capital growth rates by over 49%. Whether you’re looking to build your property portfolio or secure your first investment. Check them out here.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Welcome to Get Rich
01:17 – Final episode of 2025, why this one matters
01:37 – Meet Annette, why mindset is everything
02:44 – Annette’s childhood, drought, scarcity, and stress
04:13 – Earning big money, drowning in debt, the supermarket moment
05:51 – It wasn’t knowledge, it was mindset
07:49 – The lightbulb moment, the “unconscious driver”
09:28 – If you feel behind, the first practical steps to reset
11:14 – Money coach vs financial adviser, what’s the difference
13:25 – Why Annette built Kids Get Money
16:12 – Education, not a game, how the program works
16:50 – The best ages to start teaching kids about money
19:23 – First concepts kids need, money in, needs vs wants
20:12 – Pocket money and chores, what actually helps
22:04 – How to teach investing, risk and compound interest
24:38 – “I’m not good with money”, why you can still teach your kids
26:03 – The biggest money myths parents pass down, scarcity language
27:21 – Invisible spending, tap-and-go, Afterpay, and digital money
30:00 – One simple action, start a weekly money chat
30:19 – Where to find Kids Get Money, wrap-up

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Compound Interest Calculator (MoneySmart): https://moneysmart.gov.au/budgeting/compound-interest-calculator
Spriggy Kids’ Money App: https://www.spriggy.com.au/

CONNECT WITH ANNETTE ROSE

Website: https://www.kidsget.money/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kidsget.money/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kids-get-money/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kidsgetmoney

CONNECT WITH LADIES FINANCE CLUB

Join our free Facebook group - Ladies Finance Club Money Chat
Website: https://www.ladiesfinanceclub.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladiesfinanceclub/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ladies-finance-club/

TAKEAWAYS

• Growing up in poverty shaped my views on money.
• Money mindset is crucial for financial success.
• Financial education can break negative cycles.
• Practical steps are essential for regaining control.
• Teaching kids about money starts early.
• Kids Get Money is an educational platform for children.
• Understanding needs vs. wants is key for kids.
• Investing basics should be taught to young learners.
• Parents can pass down positive money habits.
• Open conversations about money foster understanding.

SOUND BITES

"I wanted to help other women."
"You can't unknow what you know."
"Implement the weekly Money Chat."

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Molly: Welcome to Get Rich, the podcast that helps you do just that. Get rich and stay rich. Hey, I'm Molly Benjamin. I'm the founder of Ladies Finance Club, one of Australia's largest financial education platforms for women. But before I started helping thousands of women take control with their money, I was a hot financial mess when it came to my own finances and not the fun kind of hot, more like crying in a supermarket, wondering where all my money went kind of hot.

[00:00:29] Molly: But here's the thing, if I can go from financial mess to owning a share portfolio, investing in property, and building wealth. Then you can too. My mission is simple to make women rich because when we have financial freedom, we have choices, confidence, and control over our future. Every week on Get Rich, I sit down with some of the best experts in the industry to break down how we can all start investing, growing our money, and creating long-term financial security without the jargon, boring bits or overwhelm.

[00:01:02] Molly: Because when women get rich, we don't just change our lives. We change the world. So if you're ready to start making some smart money moves, hit that subscribe button and let's get Rich together.

[00:01:17] Molly: Welcome back to our final episode of 2025. Whew. We have dropped an episode every Tuesday for the last year, which we've never done before, so yeah. Whew. Kind of crazy. Anyway. Today's episode is a great one to finish the year on because it talks about what I think is the most important thing about being good with your finances.

[00:01:37] Molly: It's about the mindset. And today's episode is for anyone who grew up around money, stress, and quietly worries about passing it on to their kids, and I'm joined by Annette Rose, the founder of Kids Get Money. And she grew up below the poverty line on a drought stricken farm in Western New South Wales, surrounded by scarcity, stress and survival mode, money thinking.

[00:02:03] Molly: So years later, she found herself earning great money in finance, living in a multimillion dollar. Home, but she was still drowning in debt. And similar to my story, it wasn't until she found herself in a supermarket and she also had a rock bottom moment that she realized something really needed to change.

[00:02:21] Molly: So in this conversation we talk about childhood money stories and how they shape our adult habits, why mindset matters just as much as knowledge and some really simple, practical ways to teach your kids about money. Even if you're still figuring it out yourself. All right. I hope you enjoy our final episode for 2025, and if you wanna give us a little Christmas treat this year, please leave us a review.

[00:02:44] Molly: We would love to hear your feedback and it really helps us out. All right, let's get into this final episode for 2025. Annette, welcome to the Get Rich podcast. We're very excited to have you on.

[00:02:56] Annette: Amazing. Hey, Molly. Thank you so much for having me.

[00:02:59] Molly: So Annette, your story is so powerful. Can you please share with our audience what it was like growing up below the poverty line and how that has shaped your views on money?

[00:03:13] Annette: That's a big question. Yeah. Uh, it certainly has formed me as a person, and I would just say that for me, I grew up on a farm out in Western New South Wales. I grew up out there in the eighties, and that was a really, really tough time because it was a period of extreme drought for Australia. And for us growing up in that way really meant that there was a lot of stress and a lot of anger in our home, and it all centered around money.

[00:03:38] Molly: Mm-hmm. Now,

[00:03:39] Annette: as a kid, when you're growing up in that environment, you can't help but take it in everything that's happening around money and. I would say that my journey with money hasn't been that positive because of what happened to me as a kid. When I became an adult, I bought all of those lessons with me, but the problem was I didn't know that I was bringing them with me.

[00:03:59] Molly: Yeah.

[00:03:59] Annette: So that money mindset factor for me.

[00:04:03] Molly: And I guess, was there a defining moment you realized financial education could break the cycles for others after, I guess you had experienced that yourself?

[00:04:13] Annette: Yeah. I mean for me, when I talk about what I went through as a young adult, I was hell bent really on making lots of money.

[00:04:21] Annette: Yeah. And because of what I'd experienced, that scarcity I really wanted. To not experience that as a grownup. I was in a place which was, I'm gonna earn all the money and I'm going to spend it.

[00:04:32] Molly: Yeah. And

[00:04:32] Annette: I did. And I did that for actually quite a lot of years. And I think the other thing that I bought with me was this idea of generosity.

[00:04:40] Annette: So not only did I wanna have everything, I wanted everybody around me to have all the things too. And so. That really led me to a place late thirties, early forties, where the debt situation was out of control. Disposable income. Sure. Very high. But if you are carrying a debt mindset with you, if you are carrying a, I want it all now mindset with you.

[00:05:00] Annette: Yeah. That quickly becomes very damaging. And so by the time I hit 40, that had really all piled up. It's a bit of a long way round to that question, but. I really had to go inward and look at how could I possibly be working in the banking industry? How could I have had this fantastic career where I earned so much money?

[00:05:18] Annette: But right now I don't have two beans to rub together. And I tell a story of standing in a supermarket trying to feed three kids, two adults, and I had 20 bucks in my pocket only. We were living in Sydney in a multimillion dollar house with all of the cars, with all of the things that you would expect, but it was all being carried by debt.

[00:05:37] Annette: So when I hit that point. We really had to change everything from, you know, our family's perspective, our marriage perspective, everything to do with money. Yeah. As a part of that journey, once I realized it was my mindset

[00:05:51] Molly: Yeah.

[00:05:51] Annette: and had done the internal work on myself, I got to a point which was how do I help other women?

[00:05:57] Annette: And I was really, really motivated to help other women because a part of my own story in terms of growing up as a kid with no money living on a farm, was about the fact that my own mother didn't have financial independence. It wasn't a great environment. She really should have had us out of there and had been running as far as as she could from that situation.

[00:06:17] Molly: Mm-hmm.

[00:06:18] Annette: She didn't have the independence to do that. That meant that we had to. Suck it up. We had to get through it and she would say to us, you know, you have to just wait until you can get out of here yourself. I can't do anything about this. And so when I got to a position where I knew what was happening with me, I really wanted to help other women.

[00:06:35] Annette: And I think that was the point for me, was saying that you can have all the knowledge in the world. And I had a lot of knowledge. I had trained as a financial advisor at one point. Yeah. So knowledge certainly wasn't a factor for me. It was all about my mindset. And when I realized how powerful that was, that was when I realized.

[00:06:51] Annette: That what I knew and what I had experienced could actually be helping other people, could be helping other women.

[00:06:57] Molly: Yes, and I think there were so many points then when I was like, oh my God, that's like elements that I've experienced similar to so many other elements that I've heard other women share as well.

[00:07:09] Molly: So I guess when you started doing that inward work, you talk about, you know, you were. With your own money, you were being very generous and you were spending every cent. And obviously looking at your childhood, you were generous because you know, you weren't in that situation when you were younger and then you were spending all the money because there wasn't any money.

[00:07:27] Molly: And I noticed with some people, they can go either way. They can hoard the money or they can just spend everything. They can be really generous or they can be really tight, well, not generous. So I guess when was that moment where you had that kind of, was it a light bulb moment where you're like. Oh, maybe this is why I'm, do you know

[00:07:47] Annette: what,

[00:07:47] Molly: what,

[00:07:48] Annette: yeah, I mean, what happened?

[00:07:49] Annette: Genuinely that experience of standing in the supermarket and I, I literally went into an internal breakdown and I, I just started having some conversations with an energy coach, so, you know, life coach, energy coach, and I rang her and I said, I'm so ashamed. I'm so ashamed because of where things are at, and, but I have to talk to somebody.

[00:08:10] Annette: I have to tell somebody. And. We sat down and within about 30 minutes she has this incredible knack of just being able to say, and why has this happened? And why has this happened? And why do you think this has happened? And we, we literally went down over a period of about 30 minutes and. Really, that's what it came down to.

[00:08:28] Annette: We, we got all the way back in that 30 minutes to, the reason this is happening is because of what you experienced as a child. It, it's because of all the things that you saw, all the things that you heard, all the things that you experienced. And it's not a surprise that, that if you've never unpacked this, that you are carrying this with you and that it's driving your behavior.

[00:08:48] Annette: So, you know, it was very much that, uh, the unconscious driver in the driving seat.

[00:08:53] Molly: Yes. Okay. And I guess then once you, and before we get into more of the, around the, the children's education and finance, but I'm really curious 'cause I feel like a lot of women listening might be like, okay, well I might feel like I'm in this situation right now.

[00:09:10] Molly: And it's so funny that you said about the supermarket, 'cause that was me, but I didn't have kids. It was just me being like, I've spent all my money and I work in banking like crazy. So, you know, there's, I'm sure if it's happened to us, it's happening to many other women. So what were those first, next steps you did to take back that control?

[00:09:28] Molly: Obviously it was understanding the beliefs and where this has come from and the mindset, but I guess on a more practical level, what did you do then?

[00:09:38] Annette: I think that's really important. So the first step is once you know you can't unknow, and so if you are feeling like this, sitting down and just getting a little bit of space and really trying to give yourself some empathy to understand why you are where you are, I think that is number one.

[00:09:53] Annette: Once you know it is a big breath, because for me there was a lot of mess to unpick and it's very, you feel ashamed, you feel scared. For me, there was all those conversations with, you know, with my partner with people that we were in debt to. There's all of that, that, that is really difficult. But what I would say is the practical step is to write everything down.

[00:10:16] Annette: Yeah, exactly. Where is everything? And you know, again, when I'm coaching with women, we do the mindset step and then the very next thing we do is we do what I call a drains up. We just write everything down. Where are you exactly today, no matter how scary it is. Do it yourself. And then it is really helpful to have a coach.

[00:10:34] Annette: Uh, you know, and I know Ladies Finance Club has heaps of fantastic coaches that can help in this, in this regard, because I think you need a cheerleader. You need somebody to remind you to be really kind to yourself because. I mean, it's just money, right? Yeah. It's gonna feel like it's the end of the world, but everything is gonna be okay.

[00:10:53] Annette: And you know, you've got Molly sitting here, you've got me sitting here, definitely living proof that you can change your situation, but. Yes. That's the practical step.

[00:11:04] Molly: Yeah. And I agree. It's hard to get out of these situations by yourself. Sometimes you need that external help. And you know, when we're sick, we go to a doctor.

[00:11:14] Molly: When our pipes are broken, we get in a plumber. So when our money situation's a bit all over. The show. We can work with a money coach. Annette, can you just maybe explain for people who are like, Ooh, money coach, what is that?

[00:11:28] Annette: Definitely. So I think the world of financial advice is, is pretty well understood.

[00:11:33] Annette: Most people, you know, have this understanding that if I need this money guidance, I could go to a financial advisor. But that's a very big step because. By the time you get to your financial advisor, you are into what are the products you need and why do you need those products? I always see a money coach is the step before that, and it's a very, very important step in firstly, just getting to grips with your position, working to figure out what it is that you wanna achieve in your life.

[00:11:59] Annette: Because to me that's what money is. Money is a way for you to live the life that you wanna live and to have the choices that you wanna have. So. We do that step. We also work with you to educate. So where you might not have those skills or you might need a little bit of topping up on your information about why would I be investing, how could I invest?

[00:12:19] Annette: Mm-hmm. What is all this superannuation stuff and what does it really mean? Not to mention life insurance.

[00:12:27] Annette: Yeah. So that when you actually go in with a financial advisor, you know what you are talking about. You know what you need. Yeah. And I think that's really, really important. So that that's where I see a coach being able to walk beside you and help you to get to that point where you have financial freedom.

[00:12:40] Molly: Yeah. And I get a lot of people asking me for financial advice, referrals to the point now where I have a form that they fill out and I would say maybe. One out of three times, I'm like, you actually need a money from what you've told me. You need a money coach, but you, you just don't realize. You think you need a financial advisor, but they're not gonna be able to help you yet until you've got these other areas under control.

[00:13:04] Annette: That's right.

[00:13:04] Molly: So we've kind of done the past, we've kind of gotten up to speed, so, and I know we just jumped straight in there as well.

[00:13:13] Annette: Forgive me for just

[00:13:14] Molly: warming up, but I feel like I'm in my stride now. Yeah. So you've got the coaching element, but what are you doing now around educating the future generation children's?

[00:13:24] Molly: Yes,

[00:13:25] Annette: so good time to talk about kids get money because from that discovery for me of what was happening with me moving into helping other women with the coaching business, COVID kind of hit us in 2020. And at that point in time, I was really thinking about a couple of things I was thinking about. I was thinking about the glass ceiling and my corporate job, and I was thinking about what kind of a business would I have if I was going to replace that?

[00:13:52] Annette: Because I was feeling more and more like I needed to step out of that. Everything got very quiet with COVID. Mm-hmm. So like everybody, we were at home and I had time to really think and. One thing that keeps striking me when I speak to women about their money is that when you teach them the very, you know, it's kind of eight basic skills, they always say, I wish I had have known this when I left school, because if I did, I would be in a significantly different position.

[00:14:17] Annette: Right now, my corporate career has always been about delivering technology and so. I literally genuinely, it was one of those brainwave moments where I was like, what if I could take my tech skills?

[00:14:29] Molly: Mm-hmm.

[00:14:29] Annette: My passion for women and kids and people who are really doing it tough, living on or below the poverty line. What if I could take those two things and create. An education platform. Yeah. And that is where kids get money was born. That was the idea. Now it took me another two and a half years to actually bring it to life because there's just a lot involved in thinking about can I really do this? Yeah. Um, I know we're not supposed to call it imposter syndrome anymore, but certainly, you know, there's a lot of that.

[00:14:57] Annette: Who am I to think that I can create a business and, you know, have this impact in the world?

[00:15:02] Molly: Absolutely, and I've, I share that for the first few years of Ladies Finance Club. I'm like, who am I? The girl who was. Crying in a supermarket 'cause she spent all her money. Who am I to be like bringing in these amazing experts, educating these women?

[00:15:15] Molly: But yeah, I think that is like this little mindset shift you kind of get over eventually, but it does take that bit of work.

[00:15:23] Annette: It does. Yeah. And so kind of fast forward to 2023. I had done kind of a small regional ideas accelerator where we kind of just looked at what would that proposition be, who would the market be for this, and put a MVP together, so that minimum viable product, and took that into seven schools in Victoria that tested really, really well.

[00:15:45] Annette: And from there. I was lucky enough to find a private investor who put a small amount of money in to help us build the first version of the platform that went live last year. So right now we are focused on schools. And we are in the middle of building out our retail proposition. So being able to provide this now to parents and kids in a way that really resonates with them, that they can fit into their lives.

[00:16:10] Molly: Fantastic. And is it

[00:16:12] Annette: lessons, is it education? Yeah, I think that's an important distinction. So kids get money, definitely not a game, although. I would describe it as being gamified. So to those of us in the tech world, that means it's more interesting than just kind of sitting there doing something out of a textbook.

[00:16:28] Annette: So there's quizzes, there's engaging videos, there's different ways to help kids learn these concepts, but it is very much education focused. So you know, there's a little pretest and then there's a post module quiz, and it's designed to kind of just bring in repetition and build up the skills of the students in those core financial literacy

[00:16:49] Molly: topics.

[00:16:50] Molly: Brilliant. So next time I speak to people and they're like, I can't believe we don't teach this in schools. I'll be like, well actually, have you checked out? Yes. Kids get money. Kids. Kids get money. For sure. Yes. So what do you think is the right age to start teaching kids about money? Is it like 6, 10,

[00:17:09] Annette: 15?

[00:17:11] Annette: Well, I think there's a couple of things. First thing to know is that from the get go, as soon as the kids can understand what you're saying. I would even put that in the four to 5-year-old territory. They're already learning. So that's, that's the first thing, because they're learning from, as I said, it's whatever you see, it's whatever you hear, it's whatever you experience from that, literally from zero to seven.

[00:17:32] Annette: So kids are monitoring it already. I would say five. Is obviously very, a very key age. They go to school, they do start to learn about coins. They start to learn about notes and these concepts of money. So that's a really good time for you to get involved As a parent, I think 10 is another very good age because at that point I think kids do really become switched on to, well, I want.

[00:17:57] Molly: Yeah,

[00:17:57] Annette: maybe it's even earlier now, but you know, I'm, I'm gonna land myself on 10 and say that at that point you can start thinking about teaching your kids about needs and wants. Yeah. You can start teaching them about money and, and money being a finite resource and the fact that we get paid in certain ways and.

[00:18:16] Annette: When we are using that money, that money goes away until we get paid again. You know, whatever that source of funds is for your household. And then I think you know that, that mid-teens, 14 to 15, we can look to Finland for this. That is a critical time for kids. So they are very, very close to getting out in the world.

[00:18:36] Annette: It's a time when they're wanting to get part-time jobs. They're getting, wanting to have debit cards, they're wanting to be able to interact with that world of money. And I think that that really, there's an obligation now, particularly with, you know, ai. We've got scams, we've got, you know, that, um, kind of digital and AI literacy as well as that financial literacy.

[00:18:57] Annette: It's kind of all coming together to be, kids have got to have this knowledge. Otherwise, I don't see how they're gonna thrive in this world.

[00:19:06] Molly: Yeah. Absolutely. And what would you say is that first concept children should learn when they're first kind of understanding how money works? Is it the, you know, you pay for things and you get things in return?

[00:19:21] Molly: What do you think those very first money concepts are?

[00:19:23] Annette: I think it is keeping it pretty simple, but I think it's the concept of, first of all. Money is coming in. Mm-hmm. So source of funds. So how is that money coming in? So mom and dad, your carers, they're going to work or perhaps they're receiving a pension, whatever it might be, but there is money coming in, then we have our needs and our wants.

[00:19:44] Annette: So I think that's the second, uh, concept with kids, because we experience the world and we want all the things, but helping kids to understand money comes in. You then have a need or a want and we can work together to figure out what's a need and what's a want. Mm-hmm. And I think that starts to bring in the school of life because there are so many teaching opportunities when we just think about putting food on the table for kids to be able to get involved.

[00:20:10] Annette: That would be my coaching.

[00:20:12] Molly: And are you someone who believed, should we give kids pocket money? And if so, what's the best way to structure it? Or should there be a set amount of chores that are just as part of being part of this family you have to do and then you can do other things for additional money?

[00:20:27] Molly: What are your thoughts on this? Yeah, I think

[00:20:30] Annette: you've probably had heaps of guests talk about this one. I, I think it's a pretty well debated topic and it's just such a personal thing to your family. For me, and in our house there was, as you've said, always a principle of, well, look, we're all a part of this family.

[00:20:44] Annette: We're a team, and this house is not gonna work if we don't all. Pick up some of the slack. Mm-hmm. So there was always that concept over and above that we did have extras. So if you wanted some pocket money, you had to go and it was wash a car or maybe it was doing the hoovering or you know, some job that mom didn't have time to do or didn't wanna do.

[00:21:04] Annette: Yeah. So that was always an option for us. I also think with kids get money, something that I talk about quite a lot is that what about educational? Achievements as well. So that question of pocket money and saying, well, what if you actually tied something like kids get money?

[00:21:21] Molly: Mm-hmm. And

[00:21:22] Annette: achieving a lesson to a bonus of pocket money.

[00:21:25] Annette: And then you can start to use those concepts that are in those lessons to say, well, that's great. So now you've earned a bonus. What are we gonna do with that bonus? And then we can start to think about needs once saving and investing. So yeah, giving myself a plug there. I mean really you, you could insert any educational attainment in there, but you know, of course.

[00:21:44] Annette: Yeah. I think kids get money is a great thing.

[00:21:46] Molly: Absolutely. Yeah. I don't think, I know many adults who are like, gosh, I wish I'd learned about this later on in life. Most of the time it's, I wish I'd started earlier. Absolutely. And so when it comes to explaining the concept of investing, 'cause that can be quite a big one to get your head around.

[00:22:04] Molly: And I know we've had past guests, you know, talk about, you know, they'll use example of Disney or McDonald's. But I guess do you have a way of teaching investing? 'cause it can, even adults struggle sometimes.

[00:22:17] Annette: Look, it is layered. So I ran. In schools. About 18 months ago, I actually went into a lot of schools and did a very challenging three hour workshop for young women.

[00:22:27] Annette: Mm-hmm. And in that three hours, we tackled the entire gamut of what girls need to know about money. Mm-hmm. And the way that I explain it is that we look at. A risk ruler. We look at different types of accounts. So you know, we start with the current account and we kind of just work our way through looking at the different types of accounts and what kind of interest they earn.

[00:22:48] Annette: What I found is that students are quite motivated by, well, how much extra money could I earn? Right? So that we really try and leverage that. I have a unique example for you though, because what we do is we put up the risk ruler and we say, if we were looking at the highest risk investment, that would be kids get money potentially.

[00:23:07] Annette: And we actually talk about that real live example of I'm a startup, I'm a single asset class. There is no diversification. If you gave me a hundred dollars today, I really hope you're gonna get your money back at some point in time, but you may not, you may not get your money back. And we, and we talk about risk and they, they love that.

[00:23:25] Molly: Yeah. We

[00:23:25] Annette: then go to, let's just look at the middle of the road and think about big institutional funds. So we look at the superannuation style funds and I actually hook them right up with the money Smart compound interest calculator. Oh yeah. I love that. Nothing more powerful than asking a group of teens.

[00:23:43] Annette: Do you think you can be a millionaire by the time you're 40?

[00:23:46] Molly: Hmm.

[00:23:47] Annette: There might be one or two kids in, in a group of 10 who say, Hmm, yeah, I think I might be able to do it. But when you show them that calculator, they are, I swear to God, they're like, what?

[00:23:58] Molly: Yeah. Are

[00:23:59] Annette: you even serious about this? And so we really bring it to life practically,

[00:24:04] Molly: and

[00:24:04] Annette: then we come back and say, okay, so.

[00:24:06] Annette: What is investing, and as you've said, this is about owning. A piece of a company and with those examples and understanding compound interest and its power,

[00:24:16] Molly: yeah.

[00:24:16] Annette: It actually all starts to really click into place for them and ignites that excitement.

[00:24:21] Molly: Yeah. Oh gosh, I wish I'd done your program at school,

[00:24:24] Annette: how to be a millionaire by the time you're 40.

[00:24:27] Annette: Ah, that would've,

[00:24:27] Molly: that would've got me hooked. I tell you, I think a lot of parents worry, I'm not good with money myself, so who am I to teach my kids? What would you say to them?

[00:24:38] Annette: I would say that that makes you the perfect candidate to teach your kids. I can reflect on my own personal experience and say that, that from that supermarket experience to today, yes, my kids had some really poor examples of what to do with money and behavior with money when they were younger, but now today.

[00:24:59] Annette: Putting all of those principles of, we talk about it, we bring it out in the open, we are real, and we just say, actually, I don't know the answer to that. Why don't we go and find that answer together?

[00:25:09] Molly: Mm.

[00:25:10] Annette: You know, there, there is, I think for kids. When we present this front that we think we have everything together.

[00:25:16] Annette: We're trying to pretend that everything's okay, but they know that it's not, or you're trying to pretend you know something. I actually think that vulnerability is actually really age appropriate, obviously. Yeah. So, you know, we don't want our kids to be scared and feel, but we do wanna go on a journey together.

[00:25:31] Annette: And you know, my kids went from having everything handed to them because that was how I'd started. Yeah. To being able to walk into a supermarket, and we are so proud. We walk in there and we're like, right, what's the cheapest possible price we can get? All of the stuff that we want today for, yeah. We go hard on unit prices.

[00:25:49] Annette: We go hard on things that are on sale, and when we come out and we're like, yes, we've nailed getting this for the cheapest possible price, we are delighted. You know, and that's with a 19-year-old, a 21-year-old and a 24-year-old. Um, in our house now.

[00:26:03] Molly: Yeah. Love it. And this might have been answered in that question, but what do you think the biggest money, myth or mistakes parents accidentally pass down to their children?

[00:26:13] Molly: Is it negative associations with money? What do you think it is?

[00:26:17] Annette: I think you're right. I did kind of answer it, but I would say very specifically that it certainly is scarcity. I think because we. We can't help it as grownups, we will say things like, oh wow, that's so expensive, or We can't afford that. Or, gosh, you know, that's not for us.

[00:26:36] Annette: We don't need things like that. That's way too expensive. You know, maybe too flashy. I think it is that without even thinking about it, we can pass on these messages to our kids because they're soaking it up. So I would say. It's to become very conscious yourself about how you feel about money and kind of almost circling back to that mindset and saying, well, what are the things I say about money?

[00:26:58] Annette: Yeah. What are the things I tell myself about money and what are the things that. The kids in the family are hearing about money and how could we actually start to make this a more positive story and message for our kids? That would probably be the main thing for me, because if we can be open, if we can talk about things in a way that's collaborative.

[00:27:17] Annette: Mm-hmm. I think the kids love to get on board that journey with money.

[00:27:21] Molly: This has been awesome and I've got two more questions. I know we're almost at time, but I'm like, I really wanna ask these questions. One is we talking about digital money? Like tap and go Afterpay, getting Ubers, a lot of money now is invisible.

[00:27:36] Molly: Like we don't actually see it, we don't touch it, we don't feel it. So how do we teach kids about that Invisible spending.

[00:27:44] Annette: I think when they're younger, if you can have a separate safe account that you do those explorations together, that you have a card attached to. Because I, I think there's nothing like having that conversation in a really real way.

[00:27:57] Annette: Yeah, I got paid this week and I've transferred this amount of money into my savings account, you know? Yeah. We can see that here. Now we're gonna go to the garage and we're gonna buy a packet of Lifesavers. It doesn't have to be big spending. Yeah. Mom's gonna tap the card. You're gonna see mom tap the card.

[00:28:12] Annette: But here, look what's happening in my bank account. Wow. It's gone. So again, I think it's that there are the accounts, you know, the S spies and the kits that that do, as the kids get older, it's more appropriate to go on that journey with them, with their own money. But when they're younger, you can start that conversation really early.

[00:28:29] Annette: You know, where did that money come from? Oh, well, mom goes to work. Or We have whatever it is being paid into the home. That's where that money came from. So, to get more of it, I gotta go to work again. And trying to make it really tangible. Yeah. I think is is important from the get go.

[00:28:43] Molly: And that's such a simple thing parents can do.

[00:28:47] Molly: And I think about, like my parents were always trying to talk about money, but it was those small things that just weren't explained. 'cause I don't know if it was assumed or they wouldn't find this interesting or it just wasn't ever thought about. But actually breaking that down. And I always use this example as well, like my dad, he used to get so angry at us for leaving all the lights on all the time.

[00:29:08] Molly: Yes, but what we didn't connect it with was he goes out to work. He earns that money he sees as us not appreciating him. But all we heard was tear up the lights. Like, God, dad really goes on about the lights. He's really got the sing for lights. We missed that explanation, which would've made all the difference.

[00:29:26] Molly: 'cause as kids, you know, we're wanting to do the right thing, but that would've helped us so much. So I love like just actually taking the time out and explaining that as. So powerful,

[00:29:36] Annette: so kids get money. That's why we decided to design it as an education package as opposed to a game because Exactly.

[00:29:43] Annette: Because of that. Because you can actually do the lessons and walk alongside your kids.

[00:29:47] Molly: Yeah, and I love it. Final question, if a mom is listening and they wanna start today, what's one simple action she could take this week to help build her child's money skills?

[00:30:00] Annette: I would suggest that you implement the weekly money chat.

[00:30:05] Annette: That's what I would suggest. So find a time that works for you and the kids. Mm-hmm. And sit down and have that conversation about where the source of funds is. So money coming in, and where money is going, needs wants.

[00:30:19] Molly: Awesome. Annette, thank you so much. If people wanna learn more about your program or wanna maybe learn more about your coaching, where can they go?

[00:30:28] Annette: Super easy. You can head to kids, get money, that's it. Everything is on the website, so yeah,

[00:30:35] Molly: one place to go. We'll be sure to link that in our show notes. Thank you so much for sharing so generously with our audience today.

[00:30:46] Annette: You are so welcome and thank you for having me.

KEYWORDS

financial education, money mindset, poverty, financial literacy, children, money coaching, investing, personal finance, money management, wealth building