The Candy Valentino Show

Episode: Your Money Minute: The Foundation for Your Kids' Future
Date: August 22, 2025
Host: Candy Valentino

Episode Overview

In this "Financial Friday" Money Minute, host Candy Valentino shares her personal strategy for setting up the next generation for lifelong success—not through a monetary trust fund, but by instilling a robust financial foundation rooted in values, habits, and knowledge. Drawing on her experience and the lessons she learned the hard way, Candy offers practical, actionable steps parents (and anyone who works with kids) can use to build wealth that goes far beyond just money.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why a Foundation, Not a Trust Fund?

• Candy reframes the traditional narrative around securing your children’s financial future. Instead of focusing on inheritance or large monetary gifts (like trust funds), she emphasizes:
  • Teaching values.
  • Imparting knowledge.
  • Instilling habits that foster lasting wealth and life skills.

"I can tell you one thing. It will not be a trust fund. It's going to be a foundation. A financial foundation of values and knowledge and habits that build real wealth, not just in money, but also in life."
—Candy Valentino, [00:38]

The Power of Leading by Example ("More is caught than taught")

• Kids absorb financial behaviors from observing parents more than from lectures or rules:
  • "They will learn far more from what we do than what we say." [00:58]
• Demonstrating sound financial habits in daily life is critical.

Candy’s Personal Plan for Her Own Kids:

1. Early Earning

• Encourage kids to start earning as soon as possible, with age-appropriate jobs or chores.
  • "They will immediately start earning money. Small things, age appropriate, as early as possible." [01:08]

2. Investing Early: Custodial Roth IRA & 529 Plan

• Candy plans to open:
  • A custodial Roth IRA.
  • A 529 college savings account.
• Both grow tax-free and demonstrate the power of early compounding interest.
• If maxed out from birth to 18, these accounts could grow to millions by retirement.

"If you invest the max from the time they are born until they turn 18, they will have millions by the time they go to retire."
—Candy Valentino, [01:24]

3. The 50/25/25 Money Rule

• A custom framework Candy created for handling income and gifts:
  • Spend 50%
  • Save 25%
  • Give 25%
• Ensures kids learn to live on less than they make, build savings, and embrace generosity.

"Every dollar that they earn or are given will need to be used in that manner so they understand what it's like to live on less than what they make."
—Candy Valentino, [01:44]

4. Embracing Challenges—Not Making Life Too Easy

• Candy consciously avoids over-cushioning her children from challenges, believing resilience comes from working through adversity.
  • "Confidence doesn't come from being handed everything. It comes from challenges and figuring things out, even when it's tough." [01:53]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Leading by Example:

  "More is caught than taught. They will learn far more from what we do than what we say."
  —Candy Valentino, [00:56]

• On the 50/25/25 Rule:

  "Spend 50%, save 25%, give 25%. Every dollar that they earn or are given will need to be used in that manner..."
  —Candy Valentino, [01:40]

• On Fostering True Confidence:

  "Confidence doesn't come from being handed everything. It comes from challenges and figuring things out, even when it's tough."
  —Candy Valentino, [01:53]

• On the Real Goal for Her Kids:

  "I will show them how to build a strong foundation, one that sets them up to build a rich life that extends far beyond just making money."
  —Candy Valentino, [02:12]

Key Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Topic | |------------|------------------------------------------------------| | 00:30 | Introduction & main theme | | 00:52 | The importance of leading by example | | 01:08 | Starting kids on earning early | | 01:16 | Custodial Roth IRA & 529 plan overview | | 01:34 | The 50/25/25 spending rule for kids | | 01:53 | The importance of not over-cushioning children | | 02:12 | The holistic vision for a "rich life" |

Tone & Style

Candy communicates with warmth, clarity, and conviction, coupling practical steps with motivational encouragement. Her message is direct: long-term wealth is about character, discipline, and letting kids learn by doing, not just by receiving.

Summary Takeaway

Rather than focusing solely on material inheritance, Candy Valentino advocates building a "financial foundation" that equips kids with skills, habits, and values for life. Through her example—earning early, saving and giving, investing, and facing challenges—she shows that the best legacy is a set of tools to create a rich life, both financially and beyond.