Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

kids and money

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: 4 ways to get a sales price when there isn’t a sale. Also in the news: What to buy and skip in September, why your kid’s after-school job may mean tax homework for you, and why your credit card debt is worse than your mortgage debt.

4 Ways to Get a Sale Price When There Isn’t a Sale
It can be as simple as just asking for one.

What to Buy (and Skip) in September
Skip the televisions.

Your Kid’s After-School Job May Mean Tax Homework for You
When to file a return.

Your Credit Card Debt Is Worse Than Your Mortgage Debt
The difference between good and bad debt.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: Why your kid should help pay for college. Also in the news: 5 reasons for flyers to love the middle seat, tips for Labor Day sales, and why you should prioritize building up your cash reserves.

Why Your Kid Should Help Pay for College
It’s their education, after all.

5 Reasons for Flyers to Love the Middle Seat
No, really.

Work Less, Save More at Labor Day Sales With These Tips
Bargain hunting.

Prioritize Building Up Your Cash Reserves
Creating a cushion.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: Intern with a 401(k)? Here’s how to make it pay. Also in the news: 6 big ways credit can affect your life, helping your kid start a business, and a new game show pays off winner’s student loans.

Intern With a 401(k)? Here’s How to Make It Pay
Make long-term gains from short-term work.

6 Big Ways Your Credit Can Affect Your Life
Where you live, work, and play.

Can You Afford to Help Your Kid Start a Business?
Beyond the lemonade stand.

New game show ‘Paid Off’ offers chance to eliminate student loan debt
Welcome to 2018.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: Bucking tradition at your wedding can help you save money. Also in the news: How schools can teach kids to be smart consumers, what to buy (and skip) in April, and how to save for retirement without a 401(k).

Engaged? Bucking Tradition Can Help You Save Big
Thinking outside the box.

How Schools Can Teach Kids To Be Smart Consumers
Learning lifelong skills.

What to Buy (and Skip) in April
Be careful with that refund.

How to save for retirement without a 401(k)
Options for the self-employed.

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: How your money story can help you break free. Also in the news: Why you should freeze your child’s credit, 4 things that could make you a target for a tax audit, and what happens if you don’t pay a debt.

How Your Money Story Can Help You Break Free
Going way back to the beginning.

Why You Should Freeze Your Child’s Credit
Even children can be victim’s of identity theft.

4 Things That Could Make You a Target for a Tax Audit
Don’t leave yourself vulnerable.

What Happens if You Don’t Pay a Debt?
Nothing good.

How schools can teach kids to be smart consumers

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Most financial literacy efforts in schools don’t improve people’s behavior later in life. That could be because we’re focusing on the wrong things.

Trying to teach teenagers how to shop for a mortgage, for example, may be an exercise in futility. The information simply isn’t relevant to them — yet. By the time they are ready to buy a home, the loans available and the rules surrounding them may have changed.

Instead, we should be teaching kids the habits that make savvy consumers. In my latest for the Associated Press, four skills that make a difference regardless of someone’s circumstances or the economic climate.