Tis The Season

Our family has kicked Christmas shopping into high gear this week.  I find that I am often asked what we will buy our son, who will be 10 months-old during Christmas.  My usual response is "not much", since I firmly believe in being cheap for the holidays when your child is too young to know the difference between an X-box and a cardboard box.  Nonetheless, I came across an interesting article in the WSJ regarding starting your child in investing as a gift and a means of financial education.  Here is the link: How to Give Children the Gift of Investing.  At first glance, I thought the idea of buying your kid stocks and bonds for Christmas was pretty lame.  However, after some thought, I am coming around to the idea.  Prior to taking this BUS 501 class, I literally knew practically nothing when it came to finance.  I knew the terms stocks and bonds, but had no idea what the difference was other than I was pretty sure bonds were safer for some unknown reason.  Yet, with this scarcity of knowledge I have purchased a home, acquired a credit card and started saving for retirement.  I'm lucky I have not put myself in financial ruin with my blind pursuits.  Maybe by introducing finance and investment at an early age to my kids, I can set them up for an easier road and more future success than I have had.