How much cash do you have on you right now? In 2022, two-fifths of Americans used no cash, and more than half of respondents in the under-50 demographic told Pew they no longer worry about carrying cash. By contrast, in 2015, only one-quarter of consumers reported being cashless.
I've been thinking a lot about money lately. Not simply because it's tax season, and I did worry briefly if the pens I deducted were a reasonable business expense, but about how I talk about money with my own child. A study by the University of Cambridge found that money habits in children are formed by the time they're 7 years old. What practices am I teaching her?
As a young child, a piggy bank, trips to the neighborhood bank to deposit accumulated coins and cash, a local store that sold penny candy and grocery shopping with my mom and her box of coupons all helped to teach me about money. I saw what handing a dollar to a store cashier got me. Yet, while my child has a bank account, she associates the bank more with lollipops than money. In a life where I seldom pay for anything in cash or use physical coupons, it seems complicated to help her understand the concept of money, let alone build habits around it.
So, how do I? By paying for more things in cash for one. Cash after all is finite. But at its heart, lessons about money come down to discussions about values. What do I value? What does she? What are our priorities?
Those values extend to where we store money. Before the recent bank failures, my knowledge of bank runs was limited to It's A Wonderful Life, but they pushed me to think about how to teach my daughter what we are saying when we choose one bank over another. Just as I talk with my child about why we choose organic berries over conventional or public transportation when we travel over renting a car, it seems more vital than ever to talk about how to determine if a bank meets our values.
When you deposit money in a bank, it, of course, doesn't just sit there. Banks use deposits to make investments in all kinds of projects. Your bank deposit could fund investments in local agriculture, solar farms or oil and gas. When you bank with one of the top-four banks (Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, $125,000 in a savings account, according to nonprofit community banker co-founder Kat Taylor and environmentalist Bill McKibben, is equivalent to an entire year's worth of the average American's carbon impact. They're some of the biggest investors in fossil fuel projects. JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Bank of America invested more than $1 trillion between 2016 and 2021 into oil and gas alone, according to a 2022 report. And yes, many of them also invest in renewable energy projects, but I can't help but wonder if that's just a marketing tactic?
I've found divesting my retirement funds from fossil fuels easier than my bank accounts. Just like if you want to check if a mutual fund, stock or ETF includes gun manufacturers, several online tools exist to help do the same for fossil fuels. Yet, while bank investments can feel tricky to track, increasingly, at least some banks are becoming more transparent about their practices. That feels like a step forward. And talking about how we choose where to bank with my child feels simpler than explaining that even though I'm paying for the ice cream cone with a plastic card, money for ice cream cones is not, in fact, endless.
Here are some resources I've found valuable for teaching money concepts to my child.
PBS NewsHour: Money habits are set by age 7. Teach your kids the value of a dollar now
Parents.com: The Best Books to Teach Kids of All Ages About Money
Good Housekeeping: How to teach your kids about money
Parents: The Best Books to Teach Kids of All Ages About Money
U.S. News: How to Invest for Your Kids and Teach Them About Investing
NerdWallet: Ethical Banking: What Are Socially Responsible Banks?
~ Bridget
P.S. Here are a few things that I've been up to:
Published: A number of cooking guides and tips for Martha Stewart Living. Young Oyster Farmers Struggle as Working Waterfronts Disappear for Civil Eats. Stonington residents taking part in pilot program to reduce waste for The Day.
Working: I'm heading to Nevada to finish reporting on a story about regenerative spirits for Wine Enthusiast. I'm also working through edits on a story for Modern Farmer on urban farming.
Reading: About these fantastic resolutions co-written by high school students: H. Res. 259, "Promoting Youth Mental Health and Well-Being in a Changing Climate," includes recommendations for addressing the harmful effects of climate change on young people's mental health. H. Res. 262, "Supporting the Teaching of Climate Change in Schools," promotes young people's right to access high-quality, age-appropriate, interdisciplinary education about climate change.
This post is so timely for me: prompted by Aja Barber’s Patreon, I opened new accounts and have started to close my old ones. I’d been meaning to FOR YEARS. She listed the ClimateMuseum.org’s resources and they were really helpful.
Anyways thanks for the parenting links around this as well!