Teaching Your Kids About Money
By stephaniemorris26, 21st Jan 2012 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutFamilyParenting
A few tips on teaching your children the all important lesson about money and how to manage it.
I want! I want!
More and more these days I see kids handed everything they want and they have no real concept of the money it takes to have these things. I have recently started taking care of my twin 12 yr old nieces and all I hear from them is “I want”. So my husband and I started explaining to them how much all this stuff they want costs and that it is doubled with them since they are twins. Now don’t get me wrong they usually end up getting the things they want but I’m cheap about it. I buy alot of stuff second hand and shop at thrift stores A LOT!! But I manage to find the things they want for a fraction of the original cost. Kids need to start being taught what it takes to pay for these things and what a strain some families put theirselves in to get it. Here are just a few tips to start instilling the value of a dollar in your kids.
Chores
Instead of just handing your kids money whenever they ask make them do chores around the house and pay them so much per chore. I remember being 8 yrs old and I wanted a new bicycle so my daddy give me chores to do every weekend at his house and I got paid $4 a week to do these things. I was told if I wanted a new bike I could save my money and buy myself one. And I did! It took me about 6 months but I saved up $80 and went and bought my new bike myself. I appreciated that bike more because I had worked for it it wasn’t just given to me. Now granted my daddy was out in the yard popping wheelies on my new bike and messed it up and had to buy me another one, but it's still the principal behind it.
Budgets
Set your children limits on the money they can spend for certain things. My kids get free lunches at school so we give them $10 a week for snacks and anything extra they want to buy. If they spend all their money by Tuesday then they don’t have money the rest of the week, and the next week I can assure you they will be a little more careful with it. Now of course some kids are just naturally better at budgeting and saving their money than others, but they still must learn how it applies to real life.
Teach them how to shop
Take your children shopping with you. Let them see how much things cost. Don’t let them just run around the store grabbing everything they see. Make them pay for some of the things they want with the money they get from their chores. They will appreciate it more knowing they have bought it for their self. And it will help them better understand exactly how much the things they want cost.
Talking to your children
Talk to your kids about finances. And I don’t mean tell them all the money problems you have. Just explain that you have bills and they have to be paid or some of the things they take for granted such as power and water would be gone. Explain to them ho much a power or water bill costs and tell them ways they can help you keep these bills down.
It is actually pretty easy to teach kids about money and it will well benefit them in the long run knowing this stuff is not just given it has to be earned.
Comments
21st Jan 2012 (#)
Nice tips. Thanks.
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21st Jan 2012 (#)
You're welcome, and thank you for the comment
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21st Jan 2012 (#)
Great tips stephanie.Thanks for sharing.
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21st Jan 2012 (#)
You have made some excellent points in this article, Stephanie. Back in my day kids expected to do chores or to work after school to earn money for the things they wanted. For those of uswho grew up on farms, we had chores to do before and after school, as well as on the weekends. Most kidsw today expect to be handed everything they want without having to do anything to earn them. There are exceptioms to the rule, of course. My two oldest grand daughters spend a couple of hours every week cleaning the sanctuary of a Catholic church neaqr their house and get paid $40 aonth each. My oldest grandson has been working after school and on Saturdays with his cousin who operates a home remodeling business to earn money to buy the extra things that he wants. It builds character and kids who have to work for what they want apprecfiate what they have more and take better care of those things.
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21st Jan 2012 (#)
@ Jerry Walch, Thank you. I am not even very old but even when I was growing up things were a lot different than they are now when it comes to children.
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22nd Jan 2012 (#)
I think teaching your children about money is one of the most important lessons you can teach them. Nice read. Thank you for sharing.:)
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22nd Jan 2012 (#)
Thank you all for reading. Yes Denise without knowing the basics about budgeting ans saving money our children would be lost in the real world.
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4th Feb 2012 (#)
I have to say after the edit I did on this..... my husband(although has said I can use any picture of him I want) will be none too pleased about me using the one with the pink tanktop, which he was holding up for me to get a pic for my mom lol
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