In order to keep your children from becoming dependent on your wealth, the authors of The Millionaire Next Door came up with rules for affluent parents and productive children. Here are some of them:

• Never tell children that their parents are wealthy: If you do, they will grow up expecting the standard of living the media associates with wealth.
• No matter how wealthy you are, teach your children discipline and frugality
• Assure that your children won’t realize you’re affluent until after they have established a mature, disciplined, and adult lifestyle and profession: Many of the millionaires cited in the book with trust funds set up for their children did not release the funds until the child was 30, 35 or even 40 years old.
• Don’t try to compete with your children: Accumulating money may be your overarching goal, but it may not be your child’s. Don’t boast about how much more money you had at their age.
• Emphasize your child’s achievements, no matter how small, not their or your symbols of success: It is better to teach your children to achieve than to simply consume.

The authors believe that by following these rules, children of the affluent will grow up to be financially independent instead of requiring economic outpatient care.

Tags: Millionaire Next Door, parenting, Thomas Stanley

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