Financial skills are one of the most vital components of adulthood, yet few schools teach money lessons. This is a surprising fact for many kids around the world. Financial skills are simply not placed at a high level of importance comparative to reading and mathematics. Sure one could argue that mathematics is the foundation for financial skills, however, learning about money isn’t simply learning numbers. As a parent you know it is your job to equip your kids with the skills they need to survive in the world. Money lessons rank pretty high on the list of skills parents must focus on teaching kids, and so today we are sharing 3 most important money lessons to teach kids so that you can move forward in raising financially smart kids.
Wait for What You Want
This is a difficult concept even for the most financial savvy adults, but it’s a money lesson you can teach kids as young as 3 to comprehend. The best way to teach the money lesson of waiting for what you want is to be firm with saying no to kids in a way that they understand you are not going to buy them something with each visit to the store. For example: heading into the grocery store and your kid sees something they want. Remind them you are at the store to by “x” and you aren’t buying anything else. They will have to wait until another time. This teaches patience in spending money and the value of sticking to a budget.
Saving for What You Want
Setup three jars for each kid and label them savings, spending and sharing. These three jars will be where your kids learn to place any money earned. They can make the choice to put their change or dollars into savings, spending or sharing. The purpose of this is to each kids to save for what they want (Savings), reward themselves a little with spending cash (Spending) and learn to give back to others (Sharing). Kids are very visual learners, which is why a see-through jar may work best for this money lesson. Have your kids create a list of something they want to save for, have your kid’s count their savings jar each week. They can jot down totals, such as subtracting the amount saved against the price for something they want. If your kids are already used to using mobile devices, try Homey app for chores, rewards and allowance – it will make things easier for you and more fun for the kids. This will teach them the value of working hard and saving for things they want.
Budgeting Money
Last, but not least, both of the above money lessons translate into one key money lesson – budgeting money. The key to raising financially successful keys is to incorporate the money lesson of budgeting money into their daily lives. Having kids take part in grocery shopping, openly discussing the household budget constraints in an age-appropriate way is the perfect example of teaching kids to budget money while you implement some of the above two options to encourage them to save their own cash flow. Many parents shield their kids from the household budget information, but this may be why kids grow up not comprehending how to budget finances. Learn to have the kids involved at some level when it comes to budgeting household money so they can learn to be smart money spenders in the future.
About the Author – Brandy Ellen Tanner is a Positive Lifestyle blogger who works from home while raising her 3 children. Learn more about Brandy at BrandyEllen.com and read her other parenting articles at ParentInfluence.com.