Financial Freedom at 15: Raising a Financially Independent Daughter

Financial Freedom at 15: Raising a Financially Independent Daughter | 我女儿15岁已经算财富自由了，十多年没有找我要过钱了

Credits: This text is from a Xiaohongshu video from Pang Ho titled "My daughter is already financially free at 15 and hasn't asked me for money in over ten years" | 我女儿15岁已经算财富自由了，十多年没有找我要过钱了 https://www.xiaohongshu.com/discovery/item/68adbd48000000001d026d36?xsec_token=AB3-CppkHmOc2E6DBzh8usGnw7nO7r78gy_cAOCL8fpEw%3D

SUMMARY

A father achieved his daughter's financial freedom by age 15 through hands-on financial education starting at age 4. He gave her complete control over her lucky money, allowing her to spend it all and learn from the experience. This led to natural frugality, then taught forced saving, investing, and risk diversification through practical experiences. The result: a financially independent teenager with mature money management skills and leadership abilities. The key takeaway is to teach financial autonomy through experiential learning, focus on building passive income and internal wealth mindset rather than just giving money, to create true financial independence. Traditional "wealth raising" through handouts breeds dependency, while letting children manage money, make mistakes, and learn investing builds lasting capability and self-respect.

Key Points

English Video Transcript

My daughter achieved financial freedom at 15 and hasn't asked me for money in over ten years. I've raised my daughter with almost no expense. When she was about four years old, I gave her all the lucky money she had received from ages one to four at once, seven or eight thousand yuan. I never interfered with how she spent it, just telling her, "This is your money. You're four now, you've grown up." Four years old and already grown up! I told her this money could be managed by herself. Many parents worry about children spending recklessly, but what can a four-year-old really spend money on? At least they won't use it to rent a hotel room, right? Or spend it on a boyfriend, right?

I gave it all to her. I won't explain my purpose yet, just look at the results. She was so generous back then, saying, "Grandpa, here's 100 yuan to buy groceries," or "Dad, here's 100 yuan for gas." She even treated our whole family to steak with her own money. A four-year-old child pulling out cash from her little bag to hand to the waiter…the waitstaff found it amusing. Don't think seven or eight thousand yuan lasts long. Within six months, it was gone. Then she came to me: "Dad, I want to eat cake." I said, "No problem, go buy it. You have money." "I think I don't have money anymore." "Where's your money?" "I think I used it all." My purpose was achieved. I knew this day would come. I wanted her to experience spending it all.

"Dad, is our family very rich?" I said, "Stop right there. It's not 'our family,' it's me. It has nothing to do with you. That's not your money." I made her understand she was spending her own money, and she would become frugal. Many parents give money while telling their children to save and be careful. It doesn't work. I didn't lecture her at all; I just let her experience it. For six months, she experienced this lack of freedom. She realized that when her money was gone, she lost her freedom. You can never be free spending other people's money, including your dad's money. Isn't that human nature?

When she turned five, I gave her the lucky money again, and she swung to the other extreme, becoming exceptionally frugal. Did I still expect her to give me money for gas or treat me to Western food? No chance! She wouldn't even offer to buy you fifty-cent popcorn at the supermarket. Starting at five, she began comparing prices at the supermarket, deciding which of two items to buy based on which was cheaper or a better deal. Even the supermarket staff were surprised, thinking, "Is this child already so sensible?" This came from her own experience. So she didn't spend all her lucky money that year.

Next, I did something very important: I opened a bank account in her name and deposited all her remaining money. Then on her sixth birthday, around Chinese New Year, I handed her this bank card along with this year's lucky money. I told her, "This is the first deposit in your life." Then I explained that last year's lucky money hadn't been spent, and this year's probably wouldn't be spent either, so she could set aside some money for the year and deposit the rest in the bank card. This is called forced savings. Many young people don't have this habit. They spend their monthly income first and save what's left, you'll never save that way. Forced savings means saving first, then spending. After a few years, you'll find you have a little nest egg. So she saved over sixty percent first, leaving only a small amount to spend.

There was over ten thousand yuan in this card, and I asked her, "Do you want this money to grow more next year?" "Yes." "Then what should we do?" What to do? "Give it all to Dad." "What? Why?" I said, "Don't worry. Invest it in Dad's company, and Dad's company will give you dividends next year. Your money will grow." This is called investing. I've always taught my daughter that making money isn't about finding a job but about finding ways not to work. Let me tell you, the richest people in the world don't work. I absolutely don't expect her to find some "good job." Forget that. You can invest.

Of course, she didn't understand. I told her to try it and just trust me. We actually signed an investment agreement. When she turned seven, "Come, look at this year's report, these are the dividends, this is what you can receive this year." Understand? Whether she understood or not, she nodded anyway. Good, sign, collect the money. After collecting, she had over twenty thousand yuan. Of course, Dad added a little extra. How was that? Happy? Happy! Want to earn more next year? Yes, yes! Then put this year's principal and dividends together, reinvest in Dad's company, and you might get more dividends next year. You're still saving part of this year's lucky money, right? Won't your snowball grow bigger?

We did this for another year, and in the third year, "Still want to earn more?" "Yes!" "Stop, there's some risk now." She asked, "What's wrong?" "What if Dad is a fraud?" You see, you've been making money, but you need to know Dad's company could also lose money. Also, if Dad is a fraud, all this money could be gone. "Ah, what should we do?" "Simple, diversify." What was your original principal? Thirteen thousand yuan. Take out this thirteen thousand and never touch it again, just leave it there. There's still over forty thousand left. Use this for investment. Invest part with Dad, and Dad will help you buy an insurance policy with another part. I bought her an insurance policy in Hong Kong that would give her over a million yuan in cash when she's around thirty…several hundred thousand US dollars. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

We continued this approach gradually. I calculated for her; she must have at least seventy or eighty thousand yuan. Yes, seventy or eighty thousand at fifteen, not bad, I think. Financially free. Financial freedom isn't about how much money you have, but how much passive income you have. Second, whether your passive income exceeds your annual expenses. From these two perspectives, she's already satisfied. Let me put it this way: she's fifteen now, and I, along with my good friends (men in their forties) often forget when we're with her that she's just a child. We're a group of brothers, sisters, buddies, good friends chatting together. She's in that state, very mature and independent.

Her school put on a play at the end of last year, a Shakespeare play. I never imagined that in less than an hour, she mobilized fifty or sixty people. Then in the entire play, all the costumes, makeup, how to apply makeup, when to go barefoot, when to wear shoes, she handled it all by herself. Under her leadership, the entire event was completed. They even sold tickets publicly and made money, which they distributed. She already has the ability to lead a group of people and handle things independently.

Everyone says daughters should be raised with wealth, so they keep giving money, which instead raises the child to be useless. Letting her bear her own risks, allocate resources wisely, possess the ability to continuously earn money, and even generate passive income; this is what truly means raising a child with wealth. She spends her money with a clear conscience. She has great self-respect; it's not charity. My daughter never acts inferior to me or as if I owe her the money. There's never been that feeling. True richness is internal. Many of us hope to become rich, but have you experienced the state of being rich? When you don't have that feeling inside, how can you earn that money? You can't earn it. Only when you feel you have this wealth in your life will this wealth truly belong to you. So I'm sharing these stories hoping to help more families realize that making money is also a profession, helping more children establish better relationships and connections with wealth. Children also need to receive such training from a young age. They'll have a competitive advantage among all their peers. How wonderful!

Original Video Transcript

我女儿15岁已经算财富自由了，十多年没有找我要过钱了。我养女儿，几乎没花钱。她四岁多的时候，我就把它从一岁到四岁所有的压岁钱一次性给她了，七八千。我绝不管她怎么花，我就跟她说这是你的钱，你现在四岁了，已经长大了。四岁就长大了！我说这个钱可以由你自己保管了。很多父母担心小孩乱花，四岁的小孩能乱花到哪里去？你跟我说，至少不会拿钱出去开房吧？不会花到男朋友身上吧？对不对？

好了，都给她。目的是什么我先不说，我们只看后面的效果。那个时候有多大方，一会儿"爷爷，给你100块钱拿去买菜。""爸爸，给你100块钱拿去加油。"还自己亲自花钱请我们全家吃了一顿牛排。一个四岁的小朋友在他的包包里摸摸摸摸几张现金交给服务员，服务员在旁边都觉得好可笑。你别看七八千，半年，很快。花完之后来了："爸爸，我想吃蛋糕。"我说："没问题啊，你你买就是了嘛，你有钱。""我好像没有钱了。""你的钱呢？""好像用完了。"我的目的达到了，我早知道有这一天，就是让她会货一空。

"爸爸，我们家是不是很有钱？"我说："打住，不是我们，是我。跟你没有关系，那不是你的钱。"让她搞清楚她花的是自己的钱，她就会节约。所以很多父母是一边给钱，一边说省着点儿，节约点，没有用的。所以我一个道理都没有给她讲过，我就让她体验。半年的时间，她都在感受这个不自由，她就体会到了我的钱花完了，我就会失去自由，花别人的钱，你永远不会自由，包括花爸爸的钱。是不是这样的嘛？人性如此。

到了五岁的时候，又把压岁钱给她，就走向另一个极端，变得异常的抠门。你还指望她拿钱给你加油、请你吃西餐？门也没有啊！超市里面五毛钱的爆米花都不带请你吃的。然后五岁到超市里面就开始比价格了，两个东西到底我要买哪一个，哪个便宜一点，哪个划算一点。超市的阿姨都觉得这小孩，嗯？这么懂事吗？自己体验而来的。所以五岁那一年的压岁钱就没有花完。

接下来，我做了一件非常重要的事情，用她自己的名字去办的银行卡，把她剩下来的钱都给她存到银行卡里。然后在她六岁生日的那一天，正好是春节前后那段时间，就把这张银行卡递给她，同时，把她今年的压岁钱交给她。跟她说："这是你人生当中的第一笔存款。"然后再跟她说，去年的压岁钱没有花完，今年的压岁钱多半也花不完，所以你可以先留一部分钱在这一年来用，另外一部分先存到银行卡里。这个叫强制储蓄。很多年轻人没有这个习惯，很多年轻人是每个月的收入先花，花完了有剩的再存，你存不下的。所以强制储蓄就是我先存，再花。过几年之后，你就会发现你有一个小金库了。所以她就先存了百分之六十多，然后剩下了一些零头用来花。

这张卡里面就有一万多块钱了，然后我就跟她说："这个钱，明年想不想让它变得更多一点？""想。""那怎么办呢？"怎么办？"你把这个都给爸爸。""啊？凭什么？"我说："你别着急，你投资给爸爸的公司，爸爸的公司明年给你分红，你的钱就变多了。"这个叫投资。我一直给我女儿灌输的是，赚钱不是想办法去工作，而是想办法不去工作。我跟你说这个世界上最有钱的人都是不工作的。我绝对不指望让她去找个什么好工作，拉倒吧，你可以做投资。

他当然不懂嘛。我说你试试看，你相信爸爸就好。真的签了一份投资协议的哦。到了七岁那一年，"来，看，这是今年的报表，这是分红，这是你今年可以分到的钱。"看懂没？反正不知道看没看懂，反正点头就行。好，签字，领钱。领完钱加起来就两万多了。那当然爸爸给它放了点水的嘛。怎么样？开不开心？开心！那想不想明年赚的更多？想想想！那你把今年的本金和分红放到一起，再投到爸爸的公司，明年你就可能分的更多。你今年的压岁钱不是还要存一部分吗？你是不是雪球就滚大了？

又这么做了一年，到了第三年，"来，还想不想赚？""想！""打住，有点危险了。"她说："怎么了？""万一爸爸是个骗子呢？"欸，你前面都赚钱，你要知道爸爸的公司也有可能会亏的。另外万一爸爸是个骗子，你这一坨钱就没了。"啊？那怎么办？""很简单，分散。"你的最初的本金是多少？最初的本金一万三，好把这一万三扣出来，这一万三再也不要动了，就放在这里。剩下还有四万多，这四万多拿来投资。一部分投给爸爸，另外一部分爸爸帮你去买一份保险。我就帮她在香港买了一份保险，这份保险在她三十岁左右的时候就可以一次性可以拿到一百多万现金的，几十万美金嘛。鸡蛋放在不同的篮子里嘛。

然后就慢慢地这样去做，我帮她总体算了一下，七八万是有的吧。对啊，十五岁七八万，不错了吧我觉得。财富自由了嘛。财富自由不是你有多少钱，而是你有多少的被动收入。第二，你的被动收入是不是大过你每一年的开销。那从这两个角度来讲，它都是已经满足了的。我这么跟你说，他现在十五岁，我，还有我的好朋友，四十多岁的男人，跟她在一起会经常忘记，哎这好像是个小孩啊。我们是一帮兄弟姐妹、哥们、好朋友在一起聊天，就这种状态，非常的成熟独立。

他们学校去年年底的时候做了一个话剧，莎士比亚的话剧。我都没有想到，她在短短的一个小时不到，就号召了五六十个人。然后整个话剧里面所有的服化道，化妆怎么化，服装什么时候该光脚、什么时候该穿鞋，都是她一个人，一个人完成的。在她的这种领导之下，完成整个活动，人家公开卖门票的，卖了钱的，他们还分钱的。已经具备了带领一群人的独当一面的这么一种能力。

都说女儿要富养，然后就不停的给钱，反而把孩子养成了一个废人。让她能够自己承担风险，自己智慧分配，拥有这种持续赚钱的能力，甚至是获得被动收入的这种能力，这才叫真正的富养。他这个钱他花的心安理得啊，他非常有自尊的，他不是嗟来之食啊。我女儿从来都不会在我面前是低我一等的，或者是那个钱我就该给她的，从来没有这样的感觉。内心才是真正的富足的。我们很多人都希望自己变得有钱，你体验过你有钱的状态吗？当你这里面没有那个钱的时候，你怎么赚嘛？你赚不到那个钱的。一定是你感觉到自己生命里面有这个财富，那这个财富才会属于你。所以我讲这几个故事就是希望帮助更多的家庭能够意识到，赚钱也是一个专业，帮助更多的孩子跟财富建立更好的关系和连接。孩子们也是需要从小接受到这样的训练的，他在所有的同龄人当中有竞争优势，多好！

Crepi il lupo! 🐺