Truth uncovered: There is no money tree!

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"  Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

I remember one time when I was very young, I asked my father to buy me a record album.  He said, "OK, well, I will just go out in the back yard and get some money off the money tree!"  I was too young to understand sarcasm, and for weeks I kept searching my back yard for that tree.  

I'm sure many of us have used that expression with our kids as well. We may be using it more often these days, as prices soar and wages remain the same.  As our teens prepare to go out in the world, they need to have good money-management skills with a godly approach.  

A couple of PARENtEEN readers sent me links to some helpful articles below (thank you, Matthew and Allison!).  

Ways To Teach Kids That Money Doesn't Grow on Trees by Eric Tyson encourages us to use the economic crunch as an opportunity to teach our children the real value of money.  

Stop Overindulging Your Children by Jill Rigby teaches parents how to stop falling for the nag factor.  

Below are some more resources for you to check out:

Teaching appreciation diminishes the impact of materialism (Harris Interactive survey)

Material world teens (Center for Parent/Youth Understanding)

Teaching your teen to budget (Family Education)