I agree it's the parents' responsibility to teach their children how to manage money, and it usually happens by example. My parents were in their 20s during the Great Depression, so they were experts on thrift. Reduce, reuse, and recycle were their way of life! They lived on a small income for many years. The company my dad worked for nearly went under when I was about four, so my mom went back to nursing after many years of being a stay-at-home mother. Eventually, I was given a small allowance and taught to save 10%, give 10% to charity, and have the rest to use as I wanted. This was a valuable lesson. I tried to pass this on to my children, but one of them turned out to be a chronic spender. She rarely saves money for future needs; she just spends what she has, and then suffers later. I don't know if she will ever catch on.