Teach devs security fundamentals to bolster supply chain resilience, argues Wheeler

Addressing a decades-old deficiency in coding curriculums could have a profound effect on the security of the software supply chain, a leading expert on the subject tells The Daily Swig.

In particular, David A Wheeler, director of open source supply chain security at the Linux Foundation, draws a link between a failure to incorporate security into entry-level developer courses and the vast majority of vulnerabilities belonging to a small number of common bug classes.

The IT PhD and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) also moonlights as adjunct professor of computer science at Virginia’s George Mason University, and in 2020 concluded a 33-year spell at the US Institute for Defense Analyses.

Daily Swig: David, can you summarize your background and what your current roles involve?

David A Wheeler: I’ve loved computers since junior high school and paid my way through school doing computer consulting. I also briefly maintained the world’s first commercial, entirely text-based multiplayer roleplaying game, Scepter of Goth.

Now I teach at George Mason University on how to develop secure software – which I’ve studied over many decades.

Most of my work is with the Open Source Security Foundation, OpenSSF [whose members include AWS, Google, and Microsoft]. I view my role as being a kind of catalyst or accelerant. I can run around as a subject matter expert to help organizations Strengthen the security of their software.

David A Wheeler has studied the secure development of software for decades

DS: And what are the biggest barriers to improving application security?

DAW: The fundamental problem is that we do not teach software developers how to write secure software.

I don't care if it’s a separate course or embedded [in other coding courses] – that's not the question. The question is: when software developers are learning the basics of their craft, do they learn the basics of developing secure software? And the answer is mostly “no”.

A 2019 Forrester study found that none of the top US coding schools and none of the top five non-US computer science schools were teaching this. Another study found that only one school did – at UC, San Diego. So good for them, shame on the rest.

DS: Let’s imagine all coding schools immediately revamped their courses to incorporate security fundamentals. Would we see a steady fall in vulnerabilities as a new wave of security-savvy developers emerge?

DAW: It’s generally estimated that somewhere between 90% to 95% of all vulnerabilities are in a relatively small set of common ones [classes].

So, if you educate developers to prevent them systemically, and then use tools to find the stragglers, we can dramatically reduce by at least one order of magnitude – and maybe two – the number of vulnerabilities that actually slip out.

They can also find and fix the problems created in the past.

Right now, detection, response, and recovery is overwhelmed by the sheer number of vulnerabilities going into deployed systems, so it will be much easier to counter the attackers when vulnerabilities are much rarer. And that's really the argument of ‘shift left’ in general: the sooner you can get rid of the problems, the better.

DS: Why is security neglected in the coding curriculum given the potentially severe consequences of software vulnerabilities?

DAW: Our educational system does not always respond to societal needs. There was an open letter written by Oracle and some other folks 10, 15 years ago or so, where they basically begged universities [to educate them properly].

But sometimes they [universities] want to teach what they want to teach, and it doesn’t matter what society’s needs are.

DS: Could this partially reflect the fact that many educators learned their craft when cyber threats were less numerous and severe?

DAW: On the [early] internet people were mostly connected to folks they felt they could trust. But once you saw this growth of the internet and the worldwide web running on top of it in the 90s, then very quickly [they realized] no, you can’t just trust arbitrary computers you connect to.

But educational conservatism isn’t all bad. It’s actually sensible to teach things that have stood the test of time, which security has. The fundamental [computing] design principles have been known [about] since the 1970s.

RECOMMENDED ‘Security teams often fight against developers taking control’ of AppSec: Tanya Janca on the drive to DevSecOps adoption

DS: Might there be a commercial incentive at work that favours coding quickly over coding securely?

DAW: Maybe to some extent for the for-profits, but I think the bigger for-profit issue is that if you know how to do [secure development], you can probably earn double or triple in industry [compared to teaching]. You’re not gonna teach.

I teach, but that’s my side hustle. I enjoy teaching. George Mason University is 20 minutes from me and more connected to industry than some other universities.

DS: How do we persuade or incentivize education providers to embed security into coding courses?

DAW: I think this is a solvable problem – basically, society needs to scream more loudly.

The US spends a tremendous amount of money financing degrees, including computer science. If we’re gonna pay, maybe we could have some criteria?

DS: Could the impetus behind ‘shifting left’ or DevSecOps help persuade education providers to change emphasis?

DAW: I would like to think so, but I think it’s much more societal and industry pressure continuing over a period of time [that will make the difference].

Right now DevSecOps [is practised properly by] a minority, and we need to make sure that [secure development is practised] not just the majority, but is [a baseline] expectation [of all developers].

Developers are not being taught general security principles – let alone how to apply them, says Wheeler

Years ago, I pushed really hard to get security added to a course on software engineering and after a lot of pressure and debate [the provider] finally added the word ‘security’ – no content, just that security might be important!

The ACM software engineering curriculum guidance at least does talk about knowing how to develop secure software, but lacks key specifics.

But I'm willing to believe that with continued emphasis we can get academia and many other organizations on board with making sure that software developers know the fundamentals.

DS: What fundamentals should newbie developers be taught?

DAW: What are the common problems? How do we prevent them in general? How do you design software so it’s less likely to be attacked? And what kind of tools can help developers to deal with that?

These general principles and the ability to apply them are important [skills] but lacking today.

Read more secure software development news

The first thing I did when I joined the Linux Foundation in 2020 as an employee was develop a course on developing secure software fundamentals. Thousands of people have now signed up.

George Mason University initially agreed to do my course every other semester, and very quickly, it's in every semester – it’s in demand.

But it’s an optional graduate course. We do need, in society, people who drill in deeper and [become experts], but we also need every developer to know the basics.

DS: How important is it that developers understand how to use security tools?

DAW: If you’re doing DevOps, you pretty much need a CI pipeline, and this is an obvious place to insert security tools. But if the developer doesn't know what they’re doing, they won’t know what the tool is telling them and what to do about it.

A fool with a tool is still a fool. They’re not stupid – it's just that no one has told them. Education and tooling go hand in hand.

The tools are going to miss things or report things that are not actually problems in context. Computer programs don’t – can’t – know the full context.

But as long as developers know which tools to use and how, then they can do [some] amazing things.

DS: Finally, anything to say on OpenSSF’s various initiatives aimed at bolstering software supply chain security?

DAW: Whether it’s industry, academia or governments, we’re all using open source software, so my first pitch would be: get involved with the OpenSSF. We would love to see more people involved.

I was deeply involved in the concise guides for developing secure software and evaluating open source software. And earlier, the OpenSSF published guides for open source projects and security researchers on [handling] coordinated [vulnerability] disclosure.

The Alpha-Omega Project has funded the Python Software Foundation and is funding Eclipse, Node... They’re announced a new partnership with Rust. They've released some tools for finding vulnerabilities – again, trying to shift left.

There’s also some funding for SBOM work, a tool for a Python library for SPDX [Software Package Data Exchange], and an [enterprise] end users working group kicking off.

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What exactly is influencer marketing? How does it differ from other forms of advertising? And why should marketers care?

Influencer marketing has become a powerful tool for businesses looking to reach new audiences.

Marketers use various strategies to identify influential individuals and gain access to their followers.

In this article, we’ll discuss what influencer marketing is and the variable for incorporating influencer marketing into a brand’s strategy.

What Is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing uses celebrities, athletes, bloggers, and other influential figures to market brands.

Influencers are those who have large social media followings and have the ability to influence their audience.

Brands use influencers to promote their product or service through paid advertisements, free giveaways, and endorsements. In addition, they can generate significant brand awareness and loyalty through paid or unpaid posts.

The goal is to get them to share valuable information and create excitement around a particular topic, product, or service. The key benefit for brands is that they reach a larger audience at a lower cost than traditional advertising methods.

The Right Influencer

However, this opportunity comes with some responsibility on the part of the brand.

Brands must be careful when choosing an influencer because it’s easy for them to fall in love with the idea of working with someone influential.

Unfortunately, without thorough background research, this can lead to a situation where a potentially ideal influencer promotes products that aren’t aligned with a brand’s values. Therefore, it’s important to ensure the influencer you want to work with aligns with your brand’s goals and values.

Influencer marketing also requires brands to pay influencers fairly. If you don’t pay your influencers what they deserve, they won’t promote your brand in the vision you want them to. Additionally, you can risk a potentially fruitful relationship.

Creating A Plan

When collaborating with an influencer, it’s essential to not just think of the total cost but the project’s goals and establish what you would like accomplished in the front end.

This can include a discovery call to plan out potential posts or how-to videos. Will you provide the content and supporting information, or will they? Of course, all this will affect the cost and time involved in creating the posts.

Influencer marketing has become one of the most effective ways to get people talking about your business online. It’s essential to know how to find the right influencers for your niche to ensure your message gets across.

Why We All Need Influencer Marketing & How We Can Use It

A study showed that in 2022 influencer marketing is set to reach $16.4 billion and 75% of brand marketers plan to include influencer marketing in this year’s strategy. This type of marketing is growing fast and doing well.

And this isn’t just for B2C brands, since 86% of B2B brands find influencer marketing a valuable strategy. That’s a considerable return on investment if you have the right approach.

If you’re only using traditional digital marketing (SEO, PPC, social media, etc.), you’re clearly missing out on a huge opportunity to increase your ROI.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an agency, brand, or business – everyone can benefit from trying influencer marketing.

Don’t believe me? You should. Influencer marketing is not “out of your league.” Here’s why.

Influencer Marketing For Agencies

How many clients does your agency have? That’s how many new influencing opportunities your agency has at its fingertips.

Agencies can use their clients, the ones they like and like them, to help promote their agency for them.

Think of it like receiving a referral or customer review.

If someone enjoys working with you and the business next door asks how they got so successful so quickly, they’re going to tell the next-door business all about your agency and how you helped them.

Case Studies & New Content

Capitalize on this process and ask your clients for video testimonials to become a part of your referral program (create one) and if you can use their results for case studies.

If you’ve been able to impact a client positively, they’re highly likely to approve you sharing the story of how you took them from one to 10.

Gather a dozen different case studies from your past and current clients to publish on your website, social pages, email newsletters, and ads. This isn’t only additional content but content your existing and new clients will appreciate.

You can also make the case study an appealing PDF and share it with the case study client for them to share among their peers.

If you help them reach their goals, they’ll love the PDF filled with graphics, charts, and impressive numbers to share with other business owners.

Trial By Error

Another way to utilize your clients for influencer marketing is to ask your clients to test out a new product.

If they’re a big client of yours, it’s appropriate to let them know that your agency is trying to innovate with all of the tech advances, and you want to try a new strategy or product with them as a test.

FREE Of Charge

If things work out with the test, woohoo! You’ve added another section to the contract. And you have a new service or product to charge for in the future.

If things don’t work out, you get insightful and honest feedback from the client and know how to fix the product or plan.

Brands

One of the most significant ways I see brands utilize influencer marketing is by partnering up with other brands.

Before I get too deep into this, I want to clarify that there are prominent corporate players like Sprint and Blue Apron. And they’re also individual brands like famous Instagram users and YouTube celebrities.

A brand can be an individual brand, like you trying to grow your role as a digital marketer in the industry. However, it can also represent a larger entity for cosmetics and skincare like Maybelline.

Now, back to the brands and the whole influencer marketing idea. Brands will partner together in campaigns to help widen their audience with influencer marketing.

They can use relevant brands in the same industry or reach out of the spectrum and partner with entirely different brands to increase their exposure to a new audience.

When you work with an influencer in a different industry, you get a level of influencer where you can capitalize on the new audience. Be strategic in who you reach out to and ask to partner up in a new influencing campaign.

Partnering with the wrong brand will profoundly impact your brand’s reputation and possibly ruin it.

Red Bull partnering with Coca-Cola for a new content campaign also wouldn’t be the best of ideas. On the one hand, Red Bull is heavily involved in extreme sports. But, they’ve chosen that angle due to their real product, an energy drink named Red Bull that essentially “gives you wings,” to be extreme.

Sure, the Red Bull athletes could do an incredible stunt riding a mountain bike down the ledge of the mountain holding both a Coca-Cola and a Red Bull can, but what would be the point?

It wouldn’t make sense because, technically, the two can be seen as competitors. They both are on-the-go drink manufacturers.

Instead, Red Bull could partner with Nike and do a content campaign featuring Nike’s new apparel line, Red Bull’s energy drink, and summer sports.

Just because your brand is in the same industry as another doesn’t mean a collab will work. It’s important to research how your consumers will react to the ad.

Businesses

We can most commonly recognize influencer marketing when businesses do it.

If your business makes pipes for the plumbing industry, head to that list of the most famous plumbers and start reaching out.

Doing outreach is a huge part of influencer marketing. It almost feels like putting on a public relations or journalist hat for a second as you try and narrow down your influencers.

Once you’ve found an influencer who has agreed to help promote your product, don’t just stop there. The more influencers you have, the more brand exposure you get, as well as trust.

The word will get around if one of the most famous plumbers uses your pipes for repairs. Other plumbers will trust the renowned plumber and follow in their footsteps to purchase and use only your pipes.

When To Pay An Influencer

Sometimes, you don’t need to pay an influencer. Instead, samples of the product you’re asking them to promote, discounts, or free services usually suffice.

It changes and becomes a more costly strategy when you pick who the influencer is and depends on the type of content you want.

The bigger the influencer, the more they’ll want.

If you’re aiming for that Kardashian type of exposure, you will need to break out the wallet. And the credit card. And possibly your mortgage.

Influencers Who Cost, A Lot

If you’re a brand, business, or agency with goals like a Kardashian type of exposure and the budget to match. Then, by all means, reach out to your lawyers and start preparing contracts for when you lock in those influencers.

Make sure your contracts clearly state the expectations of the influencer. For example, if you want them to run the content by you before they publish it, specify that in the contract.

If you want the influencer to only be able to promote your plumbing pipes and not work with any other pipe companies, state it in the contract.

Influencers Of Little To No Cost

For the rest of us, focus on the more affordable influencers. These people may already invest much of their time promoting your brand because they love your product or what you do.

Death Wish Coffee is an excellent example of this.

People love their product, the ridiculously strong coffee that comes with a side of sarcasm. The brand speaks its customer’s language, making it fun for customers to engage and promote the product themselves.

This coffee company can monitor its hashtag mentions and unlock hundreds of potential influencers that would love to receive a free month of coffee for posting more about their brand.

Look at what kind of mentions your brand, business, or agency is attracting online and follow the conversation. You’ll quickly discover who’s talking about you the most.

Finding An Influencer

Then, look at their followers if they have a healthy following reach out and see if they’d be interested in partnering up with you on an influencer campaign.

Don’t stop reading. I know those of you who are rolling your eyes yelling, “NO ONE MENTIONS MY BRAND!”

Don’t worry. I’ve got a solution for you, too. Look at your big competitors. Think of the Red Bulls and Coca-Colas of your industry.

See what kind of mentions they’re getting and from who. Then, reach out to those influencers and pitch away.

You never know who will say yes unless you ask.

Plus, they may not want as much as you think or even be willing to promote for free after getting to know more about you and your business.

Nowadays, there are numerous influencer marketing tools out there that can help connect you with the right people and brands. So, if you’re having trouble finding people you want to work with, it can be beneficial to supply one of the tools a try.

Final Thoughts

Influencer marketing has become much more than just a buzzword.

Marketers have been using influencers to promote their products for years, but brands are now using influencers to build customer relationships and create new revenue streams.

By leveraging the power of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, marketers can connect directly with consumers through influencers.

This can help to increase brand awareness and drive sales. It can also open your brand, business, or agency to new audiences.

As we get closer to the end of this year, try strategizing the influencer marketing opportunities you have out there.

More Resources:

Featured Image: Anton Vierietin/Shutterstock

Every fall, new students join the lab, eager to learn about consciousness and the brain. At this time of the year, I always ask myself, "What are the fundamental ideas about consciousness and the brain that should be taught first?" I always find myself revising, updating, streamlining, and making clearer the ideas in introductory lectures and the lab manual (Morsella, 2022). Below are the four fundamentals that, over the years, have always been presented first, both in the manual and in lab discussions.

The first thing to learn is what a “conscious content” is. Any particular thing one is conscious of has been referred to as a “conscious content.” A conscious content could be the sight of a coffee cup, an afterimage, a song that keeps playing in one’s mind, a percept, an urge (e.g., to scratch a sunburn), the smell of an ice cream sundae, or an autobiographical memory (e.g., memory of last summer’s camping trip).

The term “conscious content” refers to the most basic form of consciousness: If a creature is capable of having an experience of any kind—pain, nausea, a pleasant dream, or the sound of a bell—then it possesses this basic form of consciousness (Morsella, 2022). In short, to have an experience of any kind is to have some kind of conscious content. Sometimes people refer to this kind of basic consciousness as “awareness,” which means the same thing: Being aware of a cup or ringing in the ears is to experience these conscious contents.

The second thing to learn is the term “conscious field.” The conscious field is made up of all the conscious contents that are activated at one moment in time: the sight of an ice cream sundae plus the smell of coffee plus the feeling of the chair on which one is sitting plus the song that one cannot get out of one’s mind plus the memory of the doctor reminding one to cut down on sweets.

We are not aware of, and have no conscious contents for, many things going on in the brain or body—peristalsis in the gut, how the pupils in the eye are controlled, and many other activities in the nervous system (e.g., motor and syntactic programming). These processes are said to be unconscious. There is usually no experience about them. We know of these processes mainly through memorizing about them in textbooks. We have no direct experience about them. In short, “unconscious events are those processes that, though capable of systematically influencing behavior, cognition, motivation, and emotion, do not influence the organism’s subjective experience in such a way that the organism can directly detect, understand, or self-report the occurrence or nature of these events” (from Morsella & Bargh, 2011).

Knowledge of unconscious process leads to the third important fundamental about consciousness and the brain: Not all brain processes and regions are associated with consciousness. Consciousness is associated with only a subset of the regions and processes. Researchers are attempting to home in on these circuits associated with consciousness (e.g., Morsella et al., 2016; Morsella, 2022).

The fourth fundamental is an observation that holds some clues about why one needs a fully operational conscious field, one in which many conscious contents are presented: Each conscious content activates brain processes, including, to some extent, behavioral inclinations. Consider the classic Stroop task (Stroop, 1935). In the task, subjects are instructed to name the color in which a word is written. When the word and color are incongruent (e.g., RED presented in blue), “response conflict” leads to increased error rates and response times. The response conflict arises because, though one intends to name only the color in which the word is printed, the stimulus (RED) activates involuntarily the “word reading” action plan (to utter “red”).

Because conscious contents can activate processes that influence behavior, it is essential that one conscious content (e.g., a tasty ice cream sundae) not be presented alone to have too much influence on behavior. Such a monopoly would not lead to adaptive behavior. Each content should be “checked” by other conscious contents (e.g., the memory that the doctor recommended cutting down on sweets). (This is called a “frame check”; Morsella et al., 2016.) Because voluntary behavior is influenced by the many conscious contents in the field, we respond to a given stimulus (the tasty sundae) not in isolation but in light of the other contents (e.g., memory of doctor) composing the conscious field.

With these four fundamentals, incoming students not only understand new terms but also begin to appreciate the important role of the conscious field in yielding adaptive actions that are context-sensitive. Over the years, these four fundamentals have consistently appeared at the beginning of the lab manual (Morsella, 2022), and I can’t foresee an introduction to the lab without them.

LANCASTER − Whether they have years of experience under their belt or no knowledge at all, many children have found a spot in the Lancaster Youth Football league.

Lancaster Youth Football is a league coordinated by Lancaster Parks & Recreation that has been a part of the community for over 60 years. Serving over 300 children, this league offers tackle football, flag football, and cheerleading to boys and girls between second and sixth grade.

With multiple divisions for players of all skill levels, Lancaster Youth Football is a league for children with any level of football experience.

Jennifer Shamblin, Recreation Supervisor for Lancaster Parks & Recreation, said that the reason this league is so important for the kids involved is because of the community that it instills.

"For the community, they learn responsibility and how to be on a team," said Shamblin. "I cannot say it enough how much our coaches go above and beyond to be a part of all the kids' families, to be role models for them."

One of those coaches is Evan Saunders, head coach of the Hocking Chargers. Saunders himself played in Lancaster Youth Football as a kid in the 70s. Decades later, he is hoping to show the children in this league how to be good men and women, while also pushing them towards playing Friday night football at the high school level.

"My main goal is trying to teach them to be good young men and young women," said Saunders. "My motto is, I'm not coaching football players, I'm coaching young men and young women. My ultimate goal is to see them play on Friday night, but if they can grow up to be good people, whether they're doctors, lawyers, policemen, garbagemen, gardeners, whatever, I just want them to have a positive experience and just enjoy what they do."

Corey and Amy Wemmer are the parents of two players on the Chargers, Carter and Britton. According to Amy, this league means so much more to their family than just football.

"For us, it's more than just football, it's a family," said Amy Wemmer. "The fundamentals, the life skills that our team teaches are more than just football."

Since his kids joined the league, Corey has noticed the coaching staff passing on values to his children that he tries to ingrain in them himself.

"As a parent, I think it teaches them the fundamentals of teamwork," said Corey. "They teach a lot of the same things we try to instill in the kids at home."

Britton, who is one of the only girls on the Chargers, had two simple reasons for why she likes to play football.

"I think it's cool and I like tackling people," said Britton. "I like catching the ball and I like running it."

For Carter, Lancaster Youth Football is a step toward his dream of playing pro football in the National Football League. Since he plays for the Chargers, it's only fitting that his favorite player and NFL team are Joey Bosa and the Los Angeles Chargers. When asked how long he wants to keep playing football, his answer was short and to the point.

"Until I get to the NFL," said Carter.

Player safety has become a big issue surrounding football in latest years. According to Shamblin, that is Lancaster Parks & Recreation's top priority in their facilitation of the Lancaster Youth Football.

"Every rule that we go through is for the safety of the kids," said Shamblin. "We have league referees that are all certified, we invite them to our meetings and go through each rule one by one to ensure the safety of the players."

That emphasis on safety is evident to parents around the league. Corey and Amy would not be able to let Britton, who was born with glaucoma and has implants in her eyes, play if they were not completely confident in the league's safety precautions.

"She's always wanted to play football," said Corey. "It was hard telling her no, we explained why we didn't want her to play football. She still wanted to play football, we expressed that to the coaches and they've done nothing but ensure that she can do what she wants to do but also keep her safe at the same time."

A youth football league that combines a community similar to a family with a dedication to player safety is a recipe for success and is the reason that Lancaster Youth Football has maintained such a long tradition over the decades.

To learn more about Lancaster Youth Football, you can visit their page on the Lancaster Parks & Recreation website at www.lancasterparks.com/sports/lancaster-youth-football/.

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: More than a game: Lancaster Youth Football teaching children the fundamentals

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By Josh Beckerman

Laser Photonics Corp., discussing the performance of shares that have mostly traded below their initial public offering price, said the company's "fundamentals are solid, with strong revenue growth and profits."

The maker of laser systems for tasks including cleaning and paint removal provided an updated capitalization table. It said the management team didn't sell any shares in the IPO or in subsequent trading.

• Gregg Murset is a dad of six and the cofounder of Busy Kid, a financial app for families.
• He says parents need to teach their kids the value of work and how to manage money.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Gregg Murset. It has been edited for length and clarity.

As a parent of six nearly grown children, I can tell you that parenting boils down to one essential goal: help your kids become productive people, so they can leave your house. That hinges on two fundamentals: teaching kids how to work and how to manage their money.

Of course, that comes after teaching moral essentials like kindness. By focusing on financial responsibility, you can orchestrate a successful launch for your kids rather than a failure to launch.

I should know — four of my six kids have successfully flown the nest. I'm also a certified financial planner and the cofounder of Busy Kid, a chore app that teaches families how to manage money. As a dad and financial professional, here's what I wish more parents knew.

It's OK to be motivated by money

We live in a capitalist society. As adults, we're motivated by money — most of us wouldn't show up for our jobs if we weren't being paid. Yet many parents want their kids to do chores without external motivation. I say, put the money on the table and let that motivate your kids, rather than you nagging them.

To be productive adults, kids are going to have to learn work ethics. Chores are a natural starting point. If you're opposed to paying for all chores, set some base expectations like feeding the pets or taking out the trash. Pay for chores above and beyond that.

Teach money management

Kids love money, but they want to earn it and burn it. That's why we need to teach money management or allocation. I believe in a three-part system, with savings, sharing, and spending categories. That way kids can have fun, while still learning about giving and saving.

Here's the key: That money they are earning needs to mean something. So don't reach into your pocket every time your kid or teen asks for $20. It's easy to spend other people's money. But when kids have to spend their own funds, that's where the learning happens.

You don't have to be perfect

Most parents are intimidated by teaching finances because they feel like they don't know what they're doing. Don't let that stop you. Instead, incorporate your children into financial discussions.

The car is a great place to start since we spend so much time driving kids around. Instead of just grumbling about the price at the pump, talk to your children about what inflation is. Share how much your car payment is, and how you have to pay it each and every month. When you go out to eat, have your child calculate the tip.

These basic situations are perfect teaching opportunities. Over time, they'll help your kids think differently about money.

© 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.