It s never too early to develop a healthy relationship with money. Whether you ve got your financial life handled well or you struggle to stay on budget and to save, you can teach your kids to be money-conscious with a few regular activities and practices like these.
Go shopping. When you go grocery shopping, take your kids and get them involved in the shopping process. You can do a variety of activities depending on the age and interests of your kids. Let them clip coupons with you, browse the sale flyer, and/or make your grocery list before you go. Share your budget with your kids and bring a calculator or pen and paper along so that your kids can tally up the total of items in your cart to make sure you stay under budget.
Give an allowance. Give your kids some money every week that they can manage themselves. It doesn t need to be related to chores or anything (though it can be) to teach your kids to appreciate it and start budgeting. It s the perfect opportunity to help them learn what happens when they spend all their money right away versus when they save money.
Offer money earning opportunities. If your kids are older and looking for more money than their usual allowance, offer them the chance to earn it instead of just giving them cash or denying their ask. By allowing them to earn a bit of cash in addition to their allowance they ll learn the value of having a job early and will be more likely to make responsible work choices in the future.
Encourage saving. You ve given them an allowance and offered them the option of earning more cash, but what are they doing with it? Help them understand why saving is a good idea by taking them to the bank to open a savings account, putting part or all of their allowance in a cute piggy bank, and telling them about how and why you save money.
Play games. Break out the Monopoly board or Payday for the older kids. Both games teach kids about being able to afford money, the consequences of unplanned spending, and many other money lessons all hidden inside a fun family game.
