Teach Kids About Money.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)

Byline: Robin Grugal

7 There are few gifts a parent can give a child more valuable than a lesson in money. But how do you make it fun? Investment mogul Charles Schwab and daughter Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz offer up creative suggestions in their book, "It Pays to Talk."

** Budget a grocery aisle. Turn a trip to the grocery store into a budgeting game for your 7-year-old. At the start of each aisle, give her an item (or items) to buy and a budget to work with. When that's done, figure out together how much under or over she came, and what choices she might have made differently.

** Plan a meal. Your 12-year-old might get more out of budgeting an entire meal. Give him $20 and have him use it to plan and shop for a dinner for six. Invite his friends if your family isn't large enough to make the head count. Then prepare the dinner together as a family. If he succeeds, reward him with movie tickets or something of that nature.

"If he figures out that he can buy three pizzas for $18 and one large bottle of water for $2, go with it," the Schwabs wrote. "He's met the goal. Quality of the buy is a lesson for later!"

** Bid a project. Next time your teen-age daughter has her friends stay overnight, tell them you're willing to pay them to clean out one of your closets, but that they'll have to bid for the job. Ask each one separately how much she will charge.

"Don't necessarily take the lowest bidder; push them a ...