Opening up about her homeschooling journey, one mum has revealed that she’s using the time to teach her children how to trade – so that they’re ready to hit the markets when they’re 18.
Amanda Custer, 38, started educating herself on the details of trading four years ago to help bring in more passive income for the family, and she decided to pass on what she’s learned to her offspring.
Now, Amanda dedicates 15 minutes each day to her own trading journey, and lets her children choose their own schedule for the rest of the day – spending only two hours a day on school work.
Amanda isn’t strict on imposing a daily routine for her three girls – Adalyn, 12, Lucille, 10, and nine-year-old Anniston – as she wants to set them up for their future freedom in equipping them with financial skills.
‘During the week in between dance, sports, art, and enrichment classes they have complete control over when they complete their lessons,’ Amanda, who lives in California, told Absolutely Business, noting that her daughters will ‘never have to work a day in their lives if they don’t want to.’
After the girls have completed their two allocated hours of homeschooling, they have ‘complete freedom to choose activities,’ which could encompass anything from ‘beach days’ to ‘riding bikes.’
‘My husband and I are both entrepreneurs, so we have full control over our schedules,’ Amanda, who now teaches others how to trade through her company, Forex For Women, adds.
‘I am usually up by 6am. My girls wake up around 8am and spend their mornings slow with breakfast or playing outside.
‘Most of their day is filled with activities with other homeschooling friends whether it’s a trip to the pool, beach, museum, or a meet-up at the park.’
When it comes to managing her own trading schedule, Amanda now spends ‘under 15 minutes’ each day managing her positions from her phone.
And, when she first decided to enter the industry, she immediately decided that she wanted to ‘create a system that made trading passive’ so that she could be a ‘fully present’ mum.
‘My children are not live trading in the markets because they are not 18, so for now I am teaching them how to read the charts, and understand what is happening, how I enter into trade opportunities and more,’ Amanda details.
In fact, the girls’ knowledge is now so advanced that they ‘fully understand’ how to read the market and get themselves into ‘successful positions’ using their demo broker accounts.
‘I teach them that our goal isn’t to predict what is going to happen next in the market. It is something to take advantage of what is currently happening,’ she adds.
The family’s ‘freedom’ approach to homeschooling stems from the loss of their fourth daughter, Carsen, who sadly died in 2015 at the age of five.
‘Because of her disabilities she spent much of her life in and out of the hospital which made it near impossible for my husband and I to have regular jobs,’ Amanda shares.
‘We quickly realised that regular society, with a 9-5 employer, would not work for a family like ours so we sought out ways to provide an income for our family that gave us freedom to be with our daughters 24/7.
‘We learned how short life is, and that freedom to be together was the biggest goal and dream for our family and our children’s future.’
Now, Amanda is hoping to teach her children the importance of independence – but always tells them their ‘only task in life’ is to be happy.
‘Whether that means they go to college and find a career, become a day trader or an entrepreneur, the choice is theirs and I will support them,’ Amanda concludes.
‘I see my day trading skills as a legacy skill I can teach my children and pass onto future generations.’
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Get your regular dose of need-to-know lifestyle news and features by signing up Metro's The Fix newsletter
2024-07-10T12:41:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd