It's definitely a "different world" out there.

I'm going to risk sounding old here but when I was in high school we had classes on how to budget your money, write checks and balance your checkbook.

I'll admit I haven't written a check in years because everything is done electronically now. All my bills are paid online and let me just tell you I love it!!

But we, as parents and grandparents, owe it to our children to make sure they are well prepared to go out into the world. That's going to be different for them than it was for us. Easier and better in my opinion.

Everything is done electronically now. There are computer programs you can download for budgeting and money management. I sure do wish I had that when I was learning to budget.

You can never start too early. My granddaughters are now 17 months old. They have nearly every toy made (or at least it seems like it!) and many of them are money related.....counting coins and paper money (pretend) and buying things from a pretend retail store. They have no idea what these toys are trying to teach them but one day hopefully they'll understand it and it will have been helpful.

I've always tried to instill a respect of (not to be confused with love of) money in my boys. Unlike prior years (my years as a child and teenager) family fiances are more openly discussed and everyone is included in the discussion. I used to let my boys "help" me with organizing bills and determining what needed to be paid right now versus what could wait another week or so. I think it helped them realize that money doesn't grow on trees and if you're not careful with it there's a pretty good chance your money is going to run out before your month does.

I will never forget a lesson my Dad taught me. It is BURNED into my brain never to go away. I had purchased my first car. A 1978 Camaro. I loved that car!! I kept up the payments and insurance and maintenance on it. About a year into the loan I discovered that the payment was due but I had "shopped" a little too much and came up short when it came time to make the payment. Silly girl that I still was......and a Daddy's Girl to boot.....I wasn't worried. Daddy would cover it for me until I got paid again. I got a huge wake up call day. Daddy, bless his sweet, smart heart, told me to get my payment book and go to the bank in person and speak to the loan officer and explain why I needed extra time to pay my installment. The loan officer was very nice but told me that I could pay the interest only and the principle amount could be added to the end of the loan. I signed the paperwork and could not get out of that bank fast enough. I had learned my lesson! I never, ever was short again. Later I learned that my Dad was friends with the loan officer and had called him prior to me arriving at the bank. That lesson still helps me today. I told my boys about it and they were amazed that I could even speak with the person that made the loan to me! Everything today is done online and you never get to see who's helping you.