Meet Money Rock Star Ben

On my title Journal page, the man in the photo with me is Ben. 

Ben is my new hero.

I recently had the privilege of speaking to a Rotary group in my area. It was a brief chat about assessing risk in personal and professional contexts. At the end of these events, inevitably, a handful of people graciously come up to thank the speaker and share a thought or two before heading on their way. 

Little did I know that this week I would meet a hero of personal finance for kids disguised as an unassuming older gentleman named Ben. Prior to retirement, Ben was a CPA who, with his wife, had a son and a daughter. As a CPA with a very firm grasp on personal finance he wanted and expected his kids to grasp the economics of money. And yet, he was wholly unimpressed with what his kids’ high school was doing to address the topic of personal finance.  And with that he decided to take up the effort on his own. 

I expected Ben would tell me about lessons he had outlined for his kids. I mean, it’s not an easy job to teach teens much of anything when you’re shackled with the title of mom or dad, so I was impressed he even wanted the job.  But it was what he did to teach an ocean of lessons that blew me away.

Starting as juniors in high school, he put his two kids in charge of the family finances. 

That’s right. Not an allowance or a lemonade stand but Mom and Dad’s paycheck stubs and all the bills. 

I was slack-jawed listening to him. My mind flooded with questions. Was I understanding him correctly? Maybe they were just reviewing bank statements. 

Nope. Ben’s 16 and 17 year old kids were in charge of making sure the adult paychecks hit the bank. They were in charge of opening the mail. They were in charge of reviewing banking, making sure X amount hit the checking account and then the savings account.  They wrote the checks (no online banking then), they had the right to question expenses made during the month for clarity, they were decision-makers when emergency expenses came up and how to address such, they were responsible for tracking sub-savings accounts in case of an emergency (i.e.,  the next car fund, or a vacation goal). They made sure bank accounts reconciled, they organized a monthly overview with expenses outlined and accounting presented, “like I would expect of any of my colleagues in the office.”

These kids were 16 and 17 and managing the family’s financial well-being. Ben was not lecturing. They were all simply living.

This was about the time I asked if I could take a picture of Ben and myself. I absolutely could not believe this parent (any parent!) had the courage and faith to turn their paychecks and expenses over to their kids! 

Imagine telling your parent what the grocery allowance was going to be for the month or what’s available to spend on holiday gifts. “But surely, surely there were moments of push back,” I asked.

“Oh yes, Sharon. But not how I expected. I started getting calls from the parents of my son’s friends. ‘Ben, my kid says your kid says he’s in charge of the family money. I told my kid no way.’” 

“Sorry, John, you’re wrong. My son and daughter are in charge of the family’s money.”

“They know how much you make?”

“Of course, they are responsible for reviewing paystubs, monitoring the bank deposits and withdrawals. They need to learn what paychecks look like, understand how taxes are withheld, investments made, how to manage real life expenses and how to problem-solve.”

“Ben, I don’t think I could do it.”

Which really, says everything about John and nothing about Ben. So I’ll say it. Ben is a financial rock star, a parenting wizard about money, and now, my personal hero. 

Could you be brave enough to turn over your family’s financial standing to your kids? 

Why or Why not? Let me know. (survey takes about 1 minute)