One of my young kids (after I had said I didn’t have money) told me to go and get it from the machine on the wall (ATM) 😊. Whilst going to school gives our kids education in many different areas, often financial literacy is usually not part of that curriculum ☹. Here are a few tips to teach your kids about money.
Let your kids learn the value of hard work at an early age. Age-appropriate work helps them develop important skills, including responsibility and teamwork.
Kids learn a lot by observing adults. Daily demonstrate good money habits, such as savings, insurance, investments etc. Start with simple things like shopping together showing them what you consider before making purchases e.g. comparing prices of the same item in different stores.
Rachel Cruze (a financial consultant) suggests helping your kids practice saving using the envelope system. 3 envelopes labelled Give (used for things such as giving to charity, giving to relatives and friends birthday gifts), Save (something they may want at the end of the year e.g. a new phone) and Spend (what they use every other day). Every time they earn or are given money, they divide it up and put part of it into their Give envelope, then Save envelope and the rest can go into their Spend envelope.
For teenage kids introduce them to the basic concept of budgets. With a good number of free budgeting apps available this would be really easy and fun. If you can involve them as you do your family budget so that they understand why as a family you will be doing certain things.
Get them games, books and involve them in competitions that give them financial education from an early age. So instead of princess or soccer games and stories only, throw in simple financial games like monopoly. As they grow older, you can begin broadening your discussions and educational approach to include more concepts.
All the best as you prepare the next generation and help them protect their money and secure their future.
