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I have seen a lot of guides for parents on teaching kids about money, but none like the one the FamZoo Family Finance blog published recently. If you’re an interventionist parent when it comes to money, then here’s your bible.

The 30 tips are divided into sections for earning money, spending, saving, giving and investing. The level of detail and originality is A+ stuff. Example: Forget the allowance and have your kids identify jobs around the house, do the work and then negotiate payment. The idea is to encourage entrepreneurial skills in your kids.

Some parents don’t like the idea of paying kids to do specific things around the house or offering a steady allowance every week regardless of what a child actually does. Solution: The chore fail chart, where you dock the allowance for jobs not completed.

Here’s a FamZoo tip that my wife and I have used with our boys: Pre-negotiate your kid’s summer paycheque split. The point, for us, was to set aside a pre-arranged amount to cover university costs. Another tip that caught my eye was making your young kids submit written proposals for questionable purchases. Kids may lose interest in an impulse purchase if they have to write down their reasons for buying, and they’ll at least feel heard if you reject the proposal.

One tip directly from our household: Find out what money personality your kids have before you start trying to mold them into junior tycoons. Encourage what they’re already doing right and try to make them discover for themselves what they’re doing wrong.

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Rob’s personal finance reading list…

How big should your emergency fund be?

The standard advice is that an emergency fund should cover three to six months’ worth of expenses. Here, you’ll find some adaptation for people who are carrying debt. Putting less into an emergency fund makes sense if it frees up cash to pay what you owe.

Haunted housing

What happens when the real estate market pulls back after a huge run? For answers, check out this well-reported Maclean’s article on people who recently bought in the Toronto area.

Is it safe to eat food you left in the freezer too long?

Freezer burn is gross because it changes the smell and consistency of food. But is it safe to eat stuff that’s been in the freezer a long time, or do you have to throw it out? Answers here.

Travel here, not there

This is one of the smarter lists of travel destinations that I’ve seen. Cool alternatives to popular destinations like Paris, Rome, Maui and more. Victoria makes the list (instead of Zurich).

Today’s featured financial tool

A group of banks and credit unions got together to produce the SmartSaver website to educate people about the benefits of registered education savings plans, or RESPs. I’m including this here because I think RESPs are way underutilized by parents.

Ask Rob

Q: “I retired a few years ago, but now want to work. I receive a pension, CPP and OAS. The issue is taxation and the OAS clawback. How do I calculate when it is worth my while to work? Can you use $50,000, $60,000 and $75,000 as received income from the three sources?”

A: For the 2018 income year, you need net income of more than $75,910 for the OAS clawback to start having an impact and more than $123,019 to have your OAS fully clawed back.

Do you have a question for me? Send it my way. Sorry I can’t answer every one personally. Questions and answers are edited for length.

Featured Video

Accountant and financial educator Janine Rogan and her husband talk about how they deal with money issues, such as setting shared goals for saving, spending and retirement.

What I’ve been writing about

  • How one financial planner is helping people addicted to using their lines of credit
  • Bank of Canada may want to coddle borrowers, but bond market won’t
  • Why robo-advisers are starting to lose clients back to humans (for Globe Unlimited subscribers)

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