Money Alchemist Podcast EP 34 - Kids & Capital

UTMAs, 529 plans and individual accounts.

Jun 07, 2025

The average child spends about eight hours a day in front of a video screen1. We’ve now seen a generation of children raised on a digital cocktail of social media, video games and streaming services. A panoramic window into the world, algorithmically tuned for your child’s wants and subconscious desires.

Ferraris turn more heads than Hondas, a human preference so intrinsic that it shows up in children. Wealth is clearly more attractive than knowledge. Countless hours of affluence are processed by brains that can’t even comprehend a simple cash flow statement.

We’ve all encountered the proverbial trust fund baby with more money than sense and think, ‘what went wrong’? The grunge of teen spirit cannot be washed away with money. It must be bathed in lessons hard learned under watchful guidance.

Even then, the stink of poor choices persists as potent reminders that the stakes are real. Guidance is the key. What form this guidance should take is debatable and can vary depending on the child or situation.

Ben and Brent argue their approaches to how we should introduce children to wealth. Their approaches vary, demonstrating that there is no one ‘correct’ path, but branching paths. The objective should be to travel on those paths that chart in the generally correct direction.

Ben prefers the use of UTMA (Uniform Transfers to Minors Act) account as a training ground with a liberal degree child responsibility while Brent favors a more conservative tact with tighter controls.

It’s a lively discussion and we are curious to find out where you stand on the subject. The goal is to fully prepare kids for what’s to come. What age do you think your kids would be ready to handle a meaningful sum of capital?

Send comments, questions and requests for show contents to ben@nwmgadvisors.com or brent@infinitwealthplanning.com!