Money Minded Families

3Financial Socialization: Creating Spending, Budgeting, and Saving Habits

How will our children learn to navigate these treacherous new waters without an experienced guide? Just like traveling in a new city, they will figure it out, preferably with your help. There may be a few twists and wrong turns, but ultimately, with focus and presence of mind, our children will find their way to being financially well—if not, they will be forever lost. Consider our children's spending habits today.

Do you remember when Amazon only sold books? I sure do! On August 5, 1998, “Amazon.com Is Expanding Beyond Books” was a New York Times headline. The article reported that “Amazon.com has grown to be the most successful merchant on the Internet, with 3.1 million customers.” Today Amazon has more than 310 million active customers and sells more than 12 million products, not including books (Source: Number of Active Amazon Customer Accounts Worldwide, Statista, and How Many Products Does Amazon Carry?, Retail Touchpoints).

Amazon and a seemingly infinite number of online shopping sites have given us unprecedented access to goods and services—and ways to spend money. Subsequently, that access has helped us create a culture of instant gratification and excess. Increased consumption and a stable labor market have led to greater spending in the United States, which may be a good sign for our economy, but this type of access to goods has both changed the way we spend and created a culture of excess. ...