My interest in investing started early, through church-group personal finance lessons and a simulated stock-market exercise in high-school economics. But I didn't invest actual money until my mid-twenties.
About five or six years ago, my wife and I established investment accounts for our three children. The point wasn't to claim that children should immediately trade stocks or to create a substitute for paying attention to school, work, or their lives. We wanted to give them a real-world way to understand saving, market risk, patience, and compounding.
The most valuable lessons aren't limited to selecting a successful investment. A loss can teach something too. I want them to understand what a share represents, why diversified funds can be useful, why fees matter, and why a chart of past winners is not a promise about the future.
I also want them to appreciate the role that family assistance has played in our lives. My parents helped pay for my education. Other relatives helped with their clothing, school supplies, and experiences. We've benefited from opportunities and generosity we did not create alone.
I hope to pass on not only some financial resources, but a mindset: learn how money works, spend deliberately, be skeptical of easy promises, help people where you can, and start thinking about the future before it feels urgent.
I won't publish my children's account balances or individual transactions. The purpose of this writing is to share the educational approach, not their private financial details.