As parents, we commit to years of financial responsibility when we welcome our children into the world. It’s an obligation we take on willingly. (Well, most days.) But we also hope to prepare our sons and daughters for the day they start creating their own financial independence … and, eventually, maybe a grandchild or two.

To instill meaningful financial literacy takes a team approach indeed – in school and at home. It also takes the right approach. A Wall Street Journal article, “The Smart Way to Teach Children About Money,” offered some important insights on that, suggesting it’s both what we teach as well as when we teach it.

Remember those Golden Rules: Reading, Writing and Arithmetic? Surprise. We may hate to admit it, but our parents and grandparents might have been on to something when they emphasized the importance of learning the basics – walking before running.

The WSJ columnist comments:

“We focus on teaching finance in school when regular math is much more effective at helping children manage money. We cram their heads full of financial facts and strategies years before they’ll actually need any of it—ensuring that they won’t remember the lessons when they’re most needed. And we squirm about discussing our own family income and debt, giving children fears and false impressions they may never shake off.”

So how do you determine an effective way to roll out your lessons on financial literacy and have open, honest conversations with your kids about your family wealth? While every household should move at its own pace, Lisa and I decided to introduce our daughter Harper to this handy chart from the JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, which was included in the WSJ article.

I told Harper we would set aside time to go over each activity with her whenever she was ready to roll. Harper not only found the chart of interest, she’s been known to haul it around in her backpack. If you check out our photo of the month, we seem to have captured her attention.

While we don’t think of ourselves as the passive types, it’s interesting to see The Wall Street Journal shine its bright spotlight on passive investing and related evidence-based investing in its new series, “The Passivists.”

You can browse the entire series, or here are a couple of our favorite installments:

The Dying Business of Picking Stocks,  Anne Tergesen and Jason Zweig

News flash! “Investors are giving up on stock picking.” Our take on the matter: It’s about time.

Making Billions With One Belief: The Markets Can’t Be Beat, Jason Zweig

Featuring Dimensional Fund Advisors, with founder, chairman and co-CEO David Booth reflecting that “A little bit of judgment can make a difference.”

As the media turns its attention to the types of investment strategies we’ve been employing at Hill Investment Group since our founding, we wonder whether this will be a passing fad, a lasting improvement for investors or (as is so often the case in life), a little of both. Whatever. We’ll enjoy the wider coverage while it lasts, and still be encouraging you to Take the Long View with your investments, long after the spotlight has moved on.

No stone unturned. Although we most often get credit for our evidence-based investment approach, we are also helping clients with seemingly small things just below the surface that can make a big difference when the unexpected happens. One such example is helping clients properly name account beneficiaries for their retirement accounts. IRAs (and other retirement accounts) pass by operation of law according to your beneficiary designations on file, rather than per your estate planning documents. This is a very common misconception.

Experience tells us that it is essential to name a contingent beneficiary in addition to the primary. If a husband and wife were to die at the same time, the assets would pass to their estate, which may result in delays and higher federal income taxes for their beneficiaries. Click here to read an article on this topic.