Hi! I’m Josh Elledge, the Chief Executive Angel of SavingsAngel.com and welcome to the SavingsAngel show! I’m podcasting to you right in the heat of the Florida summer from sunny Orlando!

I am an extremely busy consumer expert, money-saving advocate, syndicated newspaper columnist, and that guy that helps consultants go from 6-figures to 7-figure rock stars at UpMyInfluence.com if you know someone who sells to business owners. I love what I do and can’t wait to get going on today’s episode.

In order to help you save more, earn more and live more abundantly on today’s show I’ll be covering:

• Ways to Teach Your Kids Healthy Money Habits
• A Conversation About Insurance
• An Interview with Lifetime Leisure Experiences’ Coach Chris Klesh

LINKS FROM THE PODCAST:

gabi.com/savingsangel 

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Ways to Teach Your Kids Healthy Money Habits

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a time for saving money and tightening up budgets. Now more than ever, kids are seeing their parents restructure their budgets, cut out unnecessary expenses, and work side hustles to earn extra cash. Many parents feel that talking about finances, especially personal family finances, with their kids is taboo. However, without that context and those lessons, our kids won't learn what money mistakes to avoid as they get older. Here are some ways to set your youngsters up for future financial success. 

Talk About the Family Finances 

This seems ridiculous, but hear me out. Without giving family budgetary changes the proper context, your kids won't start to grasp the ideas of budgeting, saving, and how to change your finances during a recession. If you keep them in the dark, they won't have these lessons already ingrained when they step into adulthood. 

Have age-appropriate conversations about money and be honest when times are tough. You can assure them everything will be okay and teach them about the circumstances in which budgets need to change. 

Teach Them the Value of a Dollar

Find ways to teach your kids from an early age about what the meaning and value of money is. Whether you give them an allowance, cash for odd jobs, or big birthday checks, find ways to teach them the value of money when they have it. Encourage them to save when they have small amounts of money come into their possession. 

It sounds harsh, but avoid just buying them what they want when they want it. Of course, gifts and specific rewards are one thing, but encourage them to save up and buy toys or video games with their own money on a general basis. 

When your kids have to pick and choose how they spend or save for items they want, they will naturally start learning the value of money. They'll also start asking themselves how much time or work will go into accruing money, which is an incredibly important and valuable lesson. 

Teach Them How to Budget

When they're old enough to understand the concepts behind budgeting, sit them down and really teach them how to structure a healthy budget. 

Show them spreadsheets, apps, or whatever tools you use for budgeting and have a transparent conversation about spending and saving. For an interesting activity that will give them food for thought, come up with some mock budgets together using different budgeting tools. This will help them start to figure out how they like to budget and encourage them to think about their future.

Make sure to answer any questions they have honestly and be open about things like debt, overspending, and what lessons you want them to learn from your own mistakes.

Teach Them About Debt

Again, the key to teaching your kids about finances is being honest. Teach them about budgeting to repay debt balances, APR and interest rates, minimum monthly payments, and everything that goes into having debt. 

Also, teach them about good debt and bad debt, and the differences between manageable debt and out-of-control debt that can lead to delinquent loans and sometimes bankruptcy. 

Teach them from a young age that some debt makes sense and there's nothing wrong with having student loans or a manageable credit card balance. Teach them about paying balances before accruing interest and about the dangers of predatory credit cards and lenders.

It's grad season, so make sure to sit your high school graduates down and have an honest conversation about predatory credit cards. These card offers will likely have pamphlet ads and offers spread around their college campuses or coming to them in the mail. Make sure they aren't fooled by these ads and offer to help them choose their first credit card if they need one. 

Without having open and honest communication about these concepts, your kids could fall into unhealthy money habits or even predatory debt. Help your kids take their first steps into adulthood with their best foot forward, help them learn from your own money mistakes, and set them up for future financial success. 

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A Conversation About Insurance

Hey, SavingsAngel friends, let’s talk for a minute about insurance. We all have to spend a sizable amount of money on insurance premiums each year. Insurance is one of those things that we really can’t go without (and insurance companies know it!) Insurance doesn’t always seem affordable these days – and shopping for competitive premiums with good coverage is definitely a challenge.

In reality, there are ways to save on insurance — if you have a little help shopping for truly competitive rates. You could actually save an average of nine hundred and sixty-one dollars a year on your home and auto insurance premiums when you shop with the right help. That’s what Gabi can do for you. Gabi takes the stress out of shopping for insurance. Gabi gives you an honest, apples-to-apples comparison of your current coverage. It compares your current coverage to competitive rates from the top 40 insurance providers in the nation. It only takes a few minutes to link up your current insurance on Gabi’s website and start comparing. A few minutes of your time is definitely worth what you’ll save on those premiums.

I used Gabi myself this year when I reviewed my annual expenses. Let me tell you, insurance premiums were some of my highest expenditures. I really wanted to find lower rates, but until I used Gabi, it was incredibly difficult to know if I was getting the best deal. Gabi is amazing – I switched my car insurance coverage and saved nearly 800 dollars a year on my premium.

Like I said, Gabi customers save an average of nine hundred and sixty-one dollars annually. My favorite thing about Gabi is that if they can’t find you a better rate, you can rest easy knowing you’ve got the best rate out there for what you need covered. No matter what, you’ll get the best deals on your premiums. Also, don’t worry — Gabi will NEVER sell your information; no robocalls and no spam to your inbox.

You’re probably overpaying on car and home insurance.  See how much Gabi can save you.  It’s totally free to check and there’s no obligation.  Go to gabi.com/savingsangel.

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Listen to the podcast to hear Josh's interview with Lifetime Leisure Experiences’ Coach Klesh!