As you know, we have been on our own debt-free journey for some time now. My husband and I have come a long way, but before we got together (and even for a while afterwards), we’ve made some pretty awful money mistakes. Here are three stories from my past that still keep me up at night.

That Time I Cosigned For A Car

Let’s go back nearly a decade to 2013. At the time, I was living with my boyfriend. We’d been together several years and we combined some of our finances to pay the rent as well as other bills. However, we maintained separate bank accounts and still supported ourselves, for the most part.

That was, until his older car broke down and he needed a new one. His car being out of service hindered me quite a bit – I worked full time and commuted to college, so sharing my car was difficult. So, he went to see about buying something new and I went along with him.

Of course, his credit wasn’t approved for the car and he asked if I’d consider cosigning. Without thinking, I did it. Two years later, after he failed to make payments, the car was repossessed and it remained on my credit for several years. It made it hard for me to get a car on my own and even made it difficult to get approved for housing.

Never again! It still haunts me.

Paying For My Books On Credit

Another past financial decision that I’m occasionally reminded of is applying for an Amazon Credit Card in college. It was a horrible idea. I bought all of my school books on credit through Amazon, but not only that. I was buying anything and everything I could with that credit card. I maxed it out and neglected to pay it on time.

Eventually, my mom helped me pay it off, even though the account was closed. I think about how much debt I was happy to rack up at that time and it’s insane.

Ignoring Bills Until They Go To Collections

At one time, I used to ignore bills that I couldn’t afford and just let them go to collections. It got so bad that, at one time, I had more than $5,000 hanging out in collections. Crazy, right?

Now, I’ve changed a lot of my own personal finance habits to make sure none of these things happen ever again, but…

They still do keep me up at night sometimes.

What are some of your financial horror stories? Share them in the comments below!

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Saving money might seem difficult for children, but it can actually be easy given you follow a couple of tips. Below are some of the best ways to help your children form awesome money habits. Using these tips can help set your children up for success in the future.

1. Instill the Habit of Saving at a Young Age

The earlier you start teaching your children about money, the better. It’s never too early to start a conversation about finances with your kids. You can begin by simply explaining what money is and how it’s used. As they get older, you can start to instill the habit of saving.

One way to do this is to set up a piggy bank or savings account that they can contribute to. Every time they receive money, whether it’s from an allowance or gifts, encourage them to put some of it into their savings. Help them to set goals for what they want to save up for and praise them when they reach their targets.

2. Encourage Them to Spend Wisely

Teach your children the difference between needs and wants. Needs are things that we must have in order to survive, like food and shelter. Wants are things that we would like to have but don’t necessarily need.

Help them to understand that we can’t always have everything we want and that it’s important to spend money wisely. One way to do this is to give them a set amount of “fun money” to spend each week. Once it’s gone, they can’t spend any more until the following week. This will help them to budget and understand the difference between spending money and saving money.

3. Teach Them About Giving

Giving is an important money habit to teach your children. Not only is it good for others but it can also benefit your children in the long run.

When your children receive money, encourage them to set aside a portion to give to charity. Many websites can help your child give donations online. Giving donations will help them to develop a habit of giving and also show them the importance of helping others.

4. Help Them Understand Debt

Debt is something that many adults struggle with, so it’s important to teach your children about it from a young age. One way to do this is to explain the difference between good debt and bad debt. Good debt is something that we take on in order to improve our lives, like taking out a loan for a house or an education. Bad debt is something that we spend money on that doesn’t increase our net worth, like credit card debt.

5. Create Ways to Earn Money

You can create a chore chart with different earnings attached. You can design your own with your kids or you can find a downloadable chore chart online. With 1.8 billion websites operating at the same time every day, you can find downloadables on sites like Etsy, Pinterest, and more.

Another way to earn money is through an allowance. You can give your kids a set amount of money each week for completing their chores. This is a great way to teach them about budgeting and saving.

6. Teach Your Child How to Budget

One way to help your child budget is by giving them a set amount of money each week for spending. This could be their allowance or money they’ve earned from completing chores. Once the money is gone, they can’t spend any more until the following week. This will help them understand the importance of budgeting and not spending all of their money at once.

Teaching your children about money is one of the most important things you can do. By instilling good money habits, you’ll set them up for success in their future, save them from financial stress, and help them to make smart decisions with their money.