Interview: Teaching our kids about money with John Lanza Ep5

Do you want to raise your kids to be smart about money, but don’t know where to start? If so, today’s episode is for you. Our guest John Lanza of Snigglezoo will help us learn the ins-and-outs of financial education for kids and his book The Art of Allowance. We discuss when we should start talking about money with our children, the real purpose of allowance (hint: it’s not to get your kids to do chores), and how to help our kids learn about money when maybe we don’t feel like we’re doing everything right ourselves.

John Lanza is on a mission to help families raise money-smart, money-empowered kids so they can live happier, more fulfilled lives. To that end, he has written The Art of Allowance along with three other children’s books. John is the creator and Chief Mammal of The Money Mammals, an award-winning DVD and youth savings program for credit unions nationwide, all built around the core Money Mammals mantra, “We’ll Share & Save & Spend Smart Too!”

John’s mission began with a simple question, “How can we raise our kids to be money smart?” He and his wife realized quickly that financial literacy was vital not only for their own six month old but for all families and The Money Mammals were born – a pioneering program to get kids excited about becoming money smart.

 

Then The Great Recession hit. It further underscored the need for financial literacy learning for all Americans and it provided the backdrop for John to begin testing out the basic tenets of what would become The Art of Allowance: A Short, Practical Guide to Raising Money-Smart, Money-Empowered Kids with his kids, now fifteen and thirteen. With so many families falling prey to the dangers of our consumer-oriented society, John found that his message was resonating, including the importance of teaching kids the impermanence of stuff, the things we own. Because children are targeted at such a young age with messages with messages to spend, it’s now clear that parents should start early in order to raise money-smart, money-empowered children.

IG @themoneymammals FB https://www.facebook.com/themoneymammals  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEzSA4c8GUWSCgVchdJULfA https://www.pinterest.com/themoneymammals/ Website https://themoneymammals.com/

About the Host:

Janice has made an entire career out of talking about money and business. During her 10 years as a commercial banker, she focused on developing financial solutions for companies of all sizes. While the work was both challenging and rewarding, Janice knew she wanted something more. She found her purpose when she began mentoring female entrepreneurs in 2012. While working with her female clients, four themes kept repeating:

Many women are uncomfortable with finance, both in their business and in their personal life. Women want access to more women mentors and advisors. Women start businesses because they feel the corporate world doesn’t fit their lifestyle. Few are motivated by purely financial reasons.

From these themes Mamas and Money was born. Janice now uses her knowledge and experience to support mothers in the areas of money, career, & business.

 Janice has been a mother herself for 10 years. When her second child was just six months old, Janice, along with her two children and husband, boarded a plane and moved overseas. After five years of adventure in Asia, the family recently relocated to Tennessee.  Janice credits her children with giving her the bravery needed for her international move and all of the crazy things she’s done since.

Janice holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from Walsh College of Accountancy and MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. She’s a lifelong learner and (not-so) secretly wishes she could go to school forever.

When Janice isn’t talking to mothers about money, career and business, you’ll find her traveling with her family and searching for the best Japanese food in town.

IG @mamasandmoneypodcast   FB www.facebook.com/mamasandmoney/  Mamas and Money FB Community www.facebook.com/groups/mamasandmoney Website www.mamasandmoney.com

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