5 REALLY Bad Financial Mistakes Parents Make

You love them so much, you cannot stand the thought of them going through any pain.

If we are constantly sheltering/spoiling them, we are essentially crippling them.

The Bible says TRAIN up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart it.
It does not say give them everything they want and/or shelter the child....it clearly says TRAIN.
Training takes time, it takes your patience, it takes you teaching your child step by step.

From my coaching experience, here are 5 areas where I consistently see parents
miss the mark when it comes to "helping" their kids. In actuality they are hurting their children:

1. Buying them a car. Do you think driving around in a brand new car that daddy bought really builds character? Having and buying a used car (yes, even a clunker) helps build character and humility. Plus, you miss out on all the great stories. One time I was driving down the road and the hood on my used Toyota Celica decided to come unhinged....slamming into my
   windshield. I can laugh about it now. I will never forget the expression on the drivers face in the next lane. It was a cross between of complete shock and confusion.
2. Purchasing a home for the child (adult children count here too!). From my mortgage background, let me shout from the mountain top on this one: STOP! I have seen so many families ripped apart when
   junior decides to stop paying. Make them EARN the right of owning a  home. I know, what a novel idea.
3. Giving them "Allowance". Besides government workers, it seems like the rest of us are not allowed anything. We have to WORK for it. Paying commission on a job well done  around the house goes a lot further.
4. Paying the kiddos debt. Another mountain shout: STOP! They need to go through the fire. I have seen so many times that parents pay off the debt only  to see the adult children go right back into debt. Let me be crystal clear here. If someone is intense, has been paying off their debt with pit bull intensity and they have a track record of doing this, I see no problem if parents  want to “gift” some of the money to expedite the process. There is track record. My problem is when parents are throwing money at junior and junior hasn’t changed  his/her behavior. You might as well light your dollar bills on fire and burn them.......it’s the same thing.
5. Paying for their College. Parents...you are not going to hell if you do not  fork over 30k a year so junior can HOPEFULLY find himself/herself  in the next 4 years. There are a ton of classes they can take online to save money, community college (especially, the first 2 years ….which essentially is 11th & 12th  grade all over again), or they might have to take their time and be PATIENT as they WORK their way through school. My wife, Sharon, has always said that not enough kids today “job shadow” before they decide what they want to do. Instead, most of us act like a herd of cattle and shuffle our way to the next step in life without thinking (yours truly) and hope that we “come up with something” at the end of 4 years (usually longer more like 5-7 years). Here is another concept to think about: Maybe college is not for everyone? I know you just blacked out, but some of the most successful people in this country never went to college. I know, shocking.

What do you think?