Dinaro Dinaro - The Family Bank: The Family Guide to Financially Successful Children

The Family Bank

The Family Guide to Financially Successful Children

Sergio Dinaro

AuthorHouse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: 1-800-839-8640

2012 by Sergio Dinaro. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/27/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-2390-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-2391-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-2392-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012910812

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Cover art and all illustrations by the very talented

Heather Workman

Contents

This book is dedicated to:

my Mom, my chief editor

my wife Wafa, my chief supporter / critic

my friends and family who helped me make sense of my ideas

my Grandmother see grandma, I learned this stuff eventually...

and finally to my daughter, inspiration and Guinea pig Kaitlyn, you were a trooper Sweetie

What is The Family Bank?

Simply put, The Family Bank is a how-to guide on how to create a bank in your home, in which you are the CEO and your children are your customers. This book is the guide to develop and implement this easy-to-use financial system that teaches your children everything they need to know about how adults control, manage, earn, spend, invest and ultimately lose their money. This system is called The Family Bank and Financial System. The Family Bank is only part of the Family Financial System, so Ill refer to The Family Bank when Im discussing money management and Ill refer to the Family Financial System for more extended topics, such as resume writing and applying for Family Bank Employment oh yes, we are much more than just a bank.

Mastering money and finances at a young age is a completely foreign concept in our culture, but it will give your children the twelve years of financial experience that you and I didnt have until we were 30! Imagine how your life might be different if you knew the long-term benefits of money management at age eighteen that you know now.

The Family Bank, like a hammer, is a tool. Its a vital tool in your tool belt that will reduce the amount of time and energy it takes to build for your children the foundation of one of the most important lessons they need to learn, which is how to control and manage their money. You might be skeptical because, lets face it, you probably dont love hammers. After all, they look like, feel like and generally represent work, but have you ever tried to build a house without one? Its possible, but I wouldnt recommend it. Teaching your children how to build a strong financial future without using The Family Bank might also be possible, but again, why work that hard without tools when its no longer necessary?

Understanding The Family Bank is simple, and implementing it takes minimal effort, but utilizing it enthusiastically will reap unbelievable dividends for both you and your children; so in your hands you have a powerful tool. The Family Bank gives you the framework to teach your children everything they need to know, which happens to be everything you already know, about how to make money, control money and how to make money work for your children, instead of against them.

How did I end up here? Life without The Family Bank . . .

If youre anything like me, then at some point in your life youve stopped and asked yourself: How did I end up here?... and realized that it all seems a little bit hazy. Yet, here we sit; a home, kids, bills and responsibilities that wont give us a minute of peace. As I head blindly through this chapter of my life, I find myself spending a substantial amount of time looking back at the decisions Ive made that led me here. Life is dramatic and complicated, but I have noticed that each period of my life seems to have a theme to it: from the deep, pure emotionalism of adolescence to the impulsive idealism of young adulthood; from the wonder and excitement of entering the workforce, to finishing school and the crushing pressure and stress of today. Am I alone here? I bet Im not. Dont get me wrong, I love where Im at in my life, but how the heck did I get here? And why do I never have the money to do both what I need to do and what I want to do? Is it this way for everyone?... No, not everyone struggles with finances, but that isnt very comforting is it? Well, if it helps, most of us are struggling.

Fifteen years ago I really thought that old people like present day me would have everything in order by now. Back then my parents would tell me that their goal in life was to make sure that my life turns out a little better than theirs did. But what constitutes better? If Im lying awake at night trying to figure out how to pay my mortgage, then compared to my parents who were lying in bed awake at night trying to figure out how to pay the rent, am I really any better off? Am I happier? Do I have any less stress? Everybody wants their children to have a better life than they did, but are we really giving our kids the tools they need to be truly successful? No, were not.

Were so focused on putting food on the table that were forced to tell ourselves our kids will have a better life than we do now, because we give them a nice home and help them with their homework. We want to give our kids the world and every opportunity in it, but at this point we may need a miracle to get to where wed like to be financially; and miracles dont happen to people like us or do they?

Yes, they do. The way our children blindly adore us, internalize every word, every expression, and every lesson we teach them is a miracle. When you try to teach something, anything really, to an adult, they are usually too full of their own biases and preconceived ideas to listen, but your children learn from you without hesitation and without reservation whether we like it or not. Your children soak up every lesson, regardless of its value.

So, how will the miracle of children help you pay the bills? It wont, but then again, this book isnt for you, is it? It is about using your God-given ability to impart wisdom and knowledge to your kids, to teach them the lessons about money, employment, credit, interest and business etiquette that you wish you could have learned while growing up. The Family Bank is about how to give your kids a better life than you have now, by teaching them how to not just survive in modern society, but to thrive.

Can The Family Bank really give your children a better life?

Children are highly impressionable and our childrens minds, personalities and values are easily malleable by lessons taught early in life, and no one has more influence over how your children turn out than you do. We dont remain malleable forever, though; around eighteen years old our ideals solidify and it becomes increasingly difficult to change the habits weve developed, regardless of their value. This is why it is so important to teach our children early how our financial system works; to let them use it, touch it, make mistakes with it, in order to to make sense of it and to see how they fit into it.