Author, podcast/radio host, and Certified Financial Coach Rachel Cruze talks about putting 4-year-olds to work, teaching your kids about giving, paying for college without debt, and what contentment REALLY means.

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So blessed and lucky to be bringing to you Rachel Cruze.

She is a great communicator. Rachel's in the media, and she's

just quickly becoming a celebrity and a superstar that's

making a big difference in the world. Rachel, welcome to the

show. Thank you for being here.

Oh, thank you so much for having me. I've been so

excited about this. Thank you.

So tell us. I mean, just, what is it like growing up,

Ramsey, like, what is it like growing up in a house with Dave,

and what are some of the things that are really different about

you from him, in terms of the way that you grew up, and just

kind of talk to us a little bit about that.

Sure. Well, yeah, everyone's always curious about

growing up in Dave Ramsey's house for sure. And I think some

people have the misconception that we had, like mutual fund

parties and budget retreats on the weekends and that kind of

thing. And thank goodness that was not the case. Mom and Dad

were obviously intentional with teaching us about money. But it

was, it was sort of cool style parenting in the sense that they

just saw teachable moments, you know, throughout the day,

throughout the week, so they would talk to us about money.

And I think some people, you know, think that we were like

little money robots or something, and we were all

obsessed with money, and that was not the case. And really the

great thing mom and dad did that helped us now as Ramsey kids,

there's three of us in the family, so now we can kind of

stand on this solid financial ground and win, and thankfully

win not because we're Dave Ramsey's kid, but because we are

top these principals. So now we get to apply that to our own

lives.

So the book Smart Money, Smart Kids. Why is it that more

parents don't teach their kids about money in the first place?

Yeah, I really don't think parents are I think

So if I'm a parent, I'm listening to the show. What are

money is a very shameful topic. I think it's a very intimidating

topic. And so some parents look back on their own mistakes and

some jobs that parents can do with their kids at all the

they think, you know, there's no way I can teach my kids about

money. We handle money horribly. You know, parents though, so we

don't have the right we don't have the knowledge to teach our

kids. So I think there's some of that. And honestly, I think

there is a portion of America, and a large portion that is

stressed out about money, you know, in their own sense. So

they're living paycheck to paycheck, they have debt,

they've like they're not able to invest for retirement, you know,

all these stresses. So they don't even think about it. I

don't think they don't have the time to sit down and talk to

their kids. And so I think it's kind of a mixture of all of

that, but I am finding kind of this lack of knowledge, if you

will, on this subject, and so it's not taught in schools. And

sadly, a lot of parents aren't talking to their kids about it.

And if you know mom and dad's story at all, they actually

filed for bankruptcy when I was six months old. And so and they

can bounce back and teach us to avoid those mistakes. Any parent

different ages, right? You know, like, at what point can they

can do that. And so with this book, you know, I really, I look

at dad's message as kind of the emergency surgeon, and I'm the

preventative medicine. You know, your kids are your do over.

They're your clean slate, and so don't feel like your mistakes

have to haunt you into your parenting by any means.

start helping around the house? And what are some things as

parents that we can do to put our kids to work early, to sort

of teach them about money and create these teachable moments,

as you call them?

Yes, well, giving them the value of work is

tremendous. I mean, a job well done, feeling like you completed

something, you've accomplished something, there's dignity

attached to that. I think some parents are fearful that they

don't want their kid to feel the hard shifts in times of life,

and they don't want them to have to make hard choices at their

time and all of that. But doing those things and making your

kids work, it really is a guess, and you can start that we pay as

early as four years old. I mean, a four year old can pick up a

few toys and, quote, unquote, clean their room. But we all

know four year old does it clean the entire room up to four and

so they pick up seven or eight boys and and I say at that young

pay them instantly. So if you're financially able, whatever it

is, you know, a quarter or $1 bill, whatever it is, pay them

instantly and show them that money come from work. Making

that connection for them early is so key. So it's a four year

old. So you're not, you know, setting up a boot camp for small

children a bit those four year old can maybe have two or three

responsibilities. You have made matching socks in the laundry,

or helping feed the dog, or just little things they can do. And

again, you know, maybe 2, 3, 4, things and pay for, and as they

get older, their responsibility should increase. And so, you

know, doing things like cleaning their room, their entire room,

making their bed, helping with the kitchen, helping with the

laundry, taking out the garbage. I mean, there are plenty of

things kids can do around the house. And again. I would

encourage parents to pay your kids on those chores. And there

will be some chores your kids will do because they're part of

the family. And so for us, growing up, of room to kid, the

kitchen was always a place. We never got paid. We always were

expected to set the table, to help clean up, to help mom do

the dishes. The older we got, because that was just, you know,

to show my mom that we love her and we appreciate her. So there

is some act that you're going to do around the house just because

you're part of the family. You're not just trying to raid

good kids. You're trying to raid good adults. And so that's what

you're doing, is you're giving your kids a tool set. So when

they leave the home at 18, whether they're going to college

or just out to the real world, they know how to handle

themselves. They know how to take care of themselves.

So there's this concept, which I just think is hilarious.

Can you explain what the 401 Dave plan is and and why that's

important, and how that worked?

Yes. Well, growing up, mom and dad always

told us that they were not going to pay for our cars we turned

16, that we had to pay for them, but what they were going to do

is actually match the amount of money we saved. And so Dad

coined the phrase 401 Dave. That's what he called it, the

401, Dave. So the matching plan, if you will. And so, yeah, this

was great. I mean, it made us, you know, depending on that How

nice of a car we wanted, depending upon how hard we

wanted to work and how much we wanted to save. And so going

through that process was incredible. And writing that

check at 16 years old, I actually say that $8,000 so,

yeah, I had, I got $16,000 to pay for my first car. Well, I

always tell parents, you know, maybe it's not the amount,

necessarily, or even the match. I mean, if you're not

financially able to match your kids, then, then that's fine.

But just the process of saving up and paying for something.

It's just tremendous. I mean, this is such a culture, such a

generation of instant gratification, that we cannot

anything we want when we want it, and so making your kids stop

delay that gratification, have the patience to say, to reach a

goal, to have something out, you know, in the future that you're

that you're working towards. I mean, it's incredible. The

saving money, I don't think, is just to put money away in a bank

account and just watch it grow. I mean, you're teaching your

kids a lot of life principles through this process of saving

money.

Another thing you talk in this book about the power of

giving and how and when and why, you can teach your kids to give.

So can you just give us some ideas on how and why and when we

should be teaching our kids to give?

Sure, well, I suggest parents, you know, once

they do their chores and they get paid some money, yes, to

teach them, the very first thing they need to do is give. And

this can be giving to, you know, maybe a church or a non profit

or a charity organization or the homeless shelter, find something

that maybe you're you're child passionate about, and see if

there's an opportunity to match their passion with a giving

opportunity. We don't have a bunch of selfish world. And so I

think you know, when you give, you're saying no to yourself,

and I think that's an important quality to have. Sometimes. I

think giving is the antidote to selfishness and selfishness, I

think, in arrogance and entitlement, it's all kind of

wrapped in together, almost. So this idea that it's mine, you

have a close fit, and I deserve this, you know? And it's all

these kind of emotions. And people who win this money are

givers. They give of their time, they serve people. They're

surrogate leaders. They give of their money as well. They're

giving spirit. So when you live with an open hands, it's not a

prosperity gospel kind of thing, but I do believe you're blessed,

and not in a financial sense, but for your heart. I mean, it's

amazing when your heart changes as you're able to help people.

And honestly, I think giving is probably the most fun you can

have with money. I mean, you can buy some fun things, some fun

toy, the fun car. I mean, there's some things you can buy

with money. That's fine, and it's enjoyable. It's a joy of

giving. There's nothing like it. And so to be able to experience

that as young as 5, 6, 7, years old, all the way up through

being a teenager, giving your kids the ability to give and let

them experience that, it's almost contagious, and when you

think of a child, he's grateful and he's willing to help, who's

learned to hold a door. I mean, these little attributes

magnified when they're able to give financially at things. I

think giving can start anywhere in your life, but when you're

able to hand over your your own money that you worked for, that

that sense of gratitude and and thankfulness, I think, just

flows out of you.

So one of the things that's a big expense for people

in life is paying for college, right? What are some things that

both parents and students can do to help them pay for college

without getting into debt?

Sure, well, there's lots of options, which

is wonderful. So if you are a parent, first and foremost, I

would say, do not feel the pressure. Don't feel shame.

Don't feel like you're a horrible parent if you're not

able to help out your kid college. College is not an

entitlement, it is a blessing, and that you as the parent are

not responsible for that if you are able to help that the gift

at the blessing your child should be very thankful. But it

is not an entitlement. It's not a right for them to go to

college and you pay court. Sure. So, you know, open up a 529 plan

or an EFA, look into saving for your kick college. But if you

had a teenager in the house and you out there, headed up the

school in the next year or two, and you don't have money saved,

there's still ways to go to college debt free. Number one,

choose an affordable school. So for a lot of students, that's

going to mean staying in states, taking in thick tuition, or even

going to a community college for the first year, or maybe even

the first two years, and then transferring. But do that, I

mean stepping over a state line to go to the public schools of

the state next. You can call up at the three times the amount,

and you're basically getting the same education. So don't do

that. Private, fancy schools, and do they have great

education? Sure, absolutely. But that you don't have to have a

degree from where those schools to go out and win in the

marketplace. So don't believe that lie either. Now if you have

the money to send your kids anywhere, and that's fine, but

going into debt for an out of state school or a private

university is just not wise. So going to that affordable school

number two, scholarships and grants apply for as many as

possible. I was talking to a girl in Texas, as she said, her

mom was a single mom made her apply for two scholarships a day

to doing that. And then lastly, research has shown that that the

average college student can work, or will work 20 hours a

week. They can pay their way through an in state school. So

you can literally work your way through. And so by doing those

kind of thing, talking to your financial aid office, then we'll

even break up a semester into a cash payment plan, where you pay

a little bit at the beginning and then some in the middle, you

know, maybe they can work with you with that. So if you have

your child that's a junior even, you know, starting a junior of

high school next fall, there's still time. And just doing those

three things, I promise you can go to full debt free.

The one word that appears in this book Smart Money, Smart

Kids over and over, and I really love this word, is just

contentment.

Yeah. I think contentment is a key principle

when it comes to teaching our kids about money. If you do not

have content kid, they will forever be trying to fulfill

themselves with stuff and spending money and figuring out

what's going to make them happy. And so being content is not

being, you know, apathetic or thumping lazy, but it's really

having peace with this where you are in life, and just being

content. And I think contentment comes from a heart that's

grateful, and that grateful heart, again, kind of wraps back

around to when your kids are giving.

I love it. Well, Rachel, you are a joy. It's a joy to see

you. It's a joy to interact with you. It's a great book.

Thanks for having me on.