Credit Karma, a site that provides consumers free access to their credit scores, can give advice to parents on how to establish good credit habits with their children and prepare them for a healthy financial life. Below are practical tips for educating on the importance of credit scores, credit reports and good spending habits:
Start small by teaching young children about money management through their interactions with you.
Give a weekly allowance as a way to teach your children about spending responsibly and budgeting.
Explain the difference to your children between wants and needs.
When your child grows into a teen, you may consider giving them a prepaid credit card or access to a parent's credit card.
Help your child choose the right credit card.
Students who have credit cards in college can find it difficult to handle their money because of the pressure that they have to spend on a limited income.
About Kenneth Lin
CEO and Founder, Credit Karma
Ken Lin is the CEO and Founder of Credit Karma, a pro-consumer credit score company dedicated to helping consumers better understand the power of their credit. For a over decade, Ken has leveraged his analytic background in the financial services and internet marketing sectors. Prior to Credit Karma, Ken founded Multilytics Marketing, a data driven marketing agency that actively manages more than $40 million a year in online marketing dollars with clients such as Wells Fargo, Liberty Mutual, and eBay.
Ken's credit and financial services experience stems primarily from E-LOAN and Partners First. At E-LOAN, he was the Director of Analytics and Research responsible for consumer marketing, conversion optimization, and data mining and targeting. With Partners First, Ken built predictive targeting models based on credit data and profitability metrics. At the time, Partners First was a top 25 Credit Issuer, had a $2 Billion portfolio, and sent over 50MM mail pieces annually. Partners First was purchased by Wachovia.
Prior to his time at E-LOAN, Ken lead a marketing team at Upromise, a loyalty company based in Boston. That experience in conjunction with E-LOAN proved that a viable business model could be built on a pro-consumer stance. This is a belief that Ken affirms in the vision for Credit Karma.
Ken holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Boston University.
