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Boys, Girls Not Prepared Equally for Financial Futures
BALTIMORE -- More boys than girls say their parents talk to them about setting financial goals, a new report has found. Having financial conversations with kids can have a positive impact on their habits and confidence with money.
T. Rowe Price’s 2014 Parents, Kids & Money Survey revealed that boys and girls ages 8 to 14 are not equally prepared when it comes to learning about money matters at home. But when such conversations occur, the children tend to develop positive financial behaviors such as identifying themselves as a saver rather than a spender, feeling more confident about money and saving for their own college education.
As a result, T. Rowe Price encourages parents to invest in their kids’ future by talking to them about money matters weekly.
Additional survey findings include:
- Boys report having more money conversations: 58% of boys say their parents talk about setting financial goals at least occasionally compared with just 50% of girls. Unsurprisingly, more boys say they are smart about money: 45% of boys say they are very or extremely smart about money, while only 38% of girls say the same.
- Parents think boys understand more: Of the parents with one child, 80% of parents with a boy think their child understands the value of a dollar compared with only 69% of parents with a girl.
- Boys have more access to credit cards: Twice as many boys have credit cards (12% versus 6% of girls).
- More boys say that their parents are saving for their education (53% versus 42% of girls).
- 58% of kids whose parents frequently talk to them about saving for college say they are saving for college on their own as opposed to 23% of kids whose parents do not frequently discuss college savings.
- 81% of kids whose parents frequently talk to them about investment vehicles like stocks and bonds say they are saving for college on their own, as opposed to just 25% of kids whose parents do not frequently talk about investment vehicles.
- 66% of kids whose parents frequently talk about family finances say they feel smart about money, as opposed to 37% of kids whose parents don’t. Additionally, 60% of kids whose parents frequently talk to them about budgeting feel they are smart about money, as opposed to just 34% of kids whose parents do not.
- 60% of kids whose parents frequently talk to them about setting financial goals identify themselves as “savers” versus “spenders” as opposed to 46% of kids whose parents do not.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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