IN REPSONSE to Master Your Card featuring our blog, Talking to Your Kids about Personal Finances: Helpful Tips from Sammy Rabbit, we posed the following question on LinkedIn:

If you could only teach a child one money habit, what would it be?

WE received an excellent response from community leaders and financial literacy champions around the world.

DO you agree with their tip? Have they identified the number one money habit you must teach your children?

Or, do you have a different tip?

TAKE a peek. Share your thinking with us! Teach your kids great money habits. Start early. Have a Sammyriffic financially literate day!

Jed Collins | CFP®, Author | Seattle, Washington

Money is not the goal. Money will allow your to get your goal. No different than driving a car you will need to make many turns along the way, just make sure you are going in the right direction and try to enjoy the ride.

Discover more about Jed in his Sammy Rabbit guest blog, 5 Reasons Why Pro Athletes Go Broke and in Sammy Rabbit Teen, College and Young Adult Financial Literacy Discussion Panel 3.

Derrick Wesley | Founder, Imar Learning Solutions | Dennison, Texas

I have to refer to the Richest Man in Babylon to answer this question. George S. Clason said, "Wealth, like a tree grows from a tiny seed...the sooner you plant that seed the sooner shall the tree grow...the sooner may you bask in contentment beneath its shade." There are a lot of important lessons in this quote. It teaches us that it doesn't matter how much money you start with, what matters is what you do with what you have. Also, building wealth takes time and patience if you want to enjoy the fruit of your labor.

Discover more about Derrick in his Sammy Rabbit Childhood Money Memories interview: Teacher Turns to Tech to Advance Financial Literacy.

Adam Day | CFP® | Cincinnati, Ohio

Great question! I’d say...Be generous. Learning that money is a great tool & resource to be able to do great things with. Building a habit of giving early can be awesome for the future. Each dollar they earn they should be able to give some away.

Peter K. Asare Nyarko | Founder, Center for Financial Literacy Education Africa (CFLEA) | Ghana, Africa

I think we should also teach kids the “art of earning money.” As a parent and/or educator, you can explain what your job is and how you are paid (you don’t need to give money details). You might say, for example, “I work at the accountant’s office. I get paid for each hour I work, and I work about 40 hours every week. At the end of each week, I get a paycheck. Our family uses the money to buy the things we need and some of the things we want. We also save some money each week so we can use it later.” This will help the kid to understand job and money and how he/she can earn money growing up! I love this Sammyriffic financial literacy discussion on teaching kids about money!

Discover more about Peter in his Sammy Rabbit Childhood Money Memories interview: Financial Literacy Advances in Africa.

Jermaine Hughes | Financial Coach | Oakland, California

I would teach them to monitor their bank accounts(piggy banks)/credit/investments daily and/or weekly. This takes time, energy and focus, but it will protect them from mismanagement of their money in the future.

Discover more about Jermaine in Sammy Rabbit Teen, College and Young Adult Financial Literacy Discussion Panel 3.

Markose Chenthitta | MBA, Founder, FINfluential | Dubai, United Arab Emirates

I would teach kids the money habits of the CEO Principle C- Cutting expenses E- Earning more money 💰 O - Optimizing your Spends.

It's important to teach kids how to save money and spend money less than their earnings. But , it's important for kids to have an abundance mindset that elevates them to earn more money and deliver more value to their others whether it be customers , clients , parents , friends etc. The earlier and more repetition in practicing the CEO Principle/method. The better they are in the long run financial. Mentally and also spiritually 🙂

Dillon Johnson | Student and California State President at California Phi Beta Lambda, Inc. | San Ramon, California

What I would teach my child is something my father inspired in me, patience to avoid indulging in instant gratification. He always told me, "if you want something, wait a month, and if you still want it then, you'll want it forever." With this, I avoided buying things that would end up in the garage and being given away. That and I would always hold my focus onto one item without being distracted by new things that came up! It taught me to value what I get, do my research on the item, and just to determine if I really wanted something that badly.

Sheila Mmboga Afande | Founder at Financial Wellness Centre | Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Interesting question. I would focus on teaching them the Art of MULTIPLYING MONEY through INVESTING before spending. This simple principle when learned well at an early age, sets you up to make money work for you. Thus, allowing you have to have more freedom and time to do things that help you fulfill your purpose and inspire others.

JOIN Sam and Sammy. All welcome. Let’s learn, grow and build a better today and tomorrow together!

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FOR many, talking about money and teaching their kids about personal finance is not easy. On other hand, sharing stories and memories creates conversation, connections and community.

So, Sammy Rabbit invites you to share your special story, money memory and/or wisdom with us.

We love bringing people together through stories and building community to champion the importance of early age, youth and family financial literacy education.

MAKING it easy to talk to and teach children great money habits while they are young is a key component to Sammy Rabbit’s mission and strategy to create systemic change, giving current and future generations of children and families the knowledge, experiences and skills they need to build more financial stability, security and freedom in their lives and communities.