Teaching kids about personal finance

Experts on the Today Show offer some insights on how best to teach your children about money. It's no secret that plenty of adults have money management issues, so why not start early with your kids and help them learn about personal finance?

Giving a child an allowance is a great idea, because they immediately start learning the value of money, and they are forced to start managing the money. They have to make choices with their own money, and as a result, they will be better prepared for adult money management. The kids will probably make some mistakes early on, maybe choosing to buy a candy bar and then not having enough money for the DVD they wanted. But that's how they learn about budgets and choices!

Listen to what the experts have to say below. And I agree with them: Children should have to earn their allowance. Money isn't free, and there's nothing wrong with people (even children) working for what they want. There's always a trade-off, and kids need to learn that early in order to become more responsible with their money.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.