Teaching Money Management to Young Children
Kids catch onto the importance of money in life pretty quickly as they watch us use it. The way to show your child the value of a dollar is by teaching them the different ways a dollar is used.
Begin When They're Young
Start showing your child at a young age how money works. It's imperative for kids to learn that money is something that is earned. They need to understand that the products or services we need in life are provided in exchange for money, and the value or worth of what is being sold is up to the seller to determine. There is no way to purchase an item or service when you don't have money
Another good topic to cover is the importance of saving money. Let them know that a child with a two or three dollars could buy candy that will only last about 10 seconds, or even a cheap toy that will likely break in about 10 minutes or be forgotten about the next day. However, if that child saves the money, they can buy a better item that will probably have more value and last longer.
Have A Savings Plan
One way to teach children about savings is setting a percentage they should save every time they earn money. Ten percent is an easy sum to learn; simply move the decimal point one space to the left. For every $1.00 earned, $0.10 will be saved ($23.48 earned, $2.34 saved).
Make sure that they know that the account is not for toy that will last longer than the cheap one, but it is to be used for emergencies or to get somethinge like a car. It should make them happy to know that with the other 90% they can get the candy or the toy they really want. Teaching this principle is the perfect way to teach about discipline and long-term savings.
It is a given that a six-year-old will not get the "rainy day" theory, and talking to them about the privilege of driving may not win brownie points; but after saving 10% over the years, they can see how it adds up. This is a valuable teaching for when they get their first job. They will be used to saving that 10% already
You can also share with them about putting some money to the side to give to a charity they are interested in. Concepts like this teach them even more about managing their money.
As Your Child Grows
When your child is more mature, take him or her to the bank with you and open a line of savings in their (and your) name. Once or twice a month, take your child to the bank so they can deposit their money into their account. Let them see the bank statement and watch how their money is growing with the help of interest.
It is a good idea for them to know that interest is a big part of saving and spending. With interest you either pay more or earn more; it all depends on what the interest is for. It is a good idea to show teenagers that if a debt is not paid for in 30 days, they will end up paying more for an item than the purchase price.
One way to show how detrimental or great interest can be is by doing some role-play. Pick an item your teenager currently wants to purchase on a credit card. Make a chart showing how making only the minimum payment affects the total debt (you'll also need to explain APR), how long it takes to pay off the debt with minimum payments, and how much interest is paid in total.
On that same note, take the number of months it took to pay off the credit card and show how much interest he/she'd be making in a savings account while putting money away to save for that item. The amount of interest isn't much, but the point to make is if you save money to purchase the item, you will only pay that sum without the additional cost of interest.
The purpose of teaching your child about money is to get them to see the value in proper money management.
Begin When They're Young
Start showing your child at a young age how money works. It's imperative for kids to learn that money is something that is earned. They need to understand that the products or services we need in life are provided in exchange for money, and the value or worth of what is being sold is up to the seller to determine. There is no way to purchase an item or service when you don't have money
Another good topic to cover is the importance of saving money. Let them know that a child with a two or three dollars could buy candy that will only last about 10 seconds, or even a cheap toy that will likely break in about 10 minutes or be forgotten about the next day. However, if that child saves the money, they can buy a better item that will probably have more value and last longer.
Have A Savings Plan
One way to teach children about savings is setting a percentage they should save every time they earn money. Ten percent is an easy sum to learn; simply move the decimal point one space to the left. For every $1.00 earned, $0.10 will be saved ($23.48 earned, $2.34 saved).
Make sure that they know that the account is not for toy that will last longer than the cheap one, but it is to be used for emergencies or to get somethinge like a car. It should make them happy to know that with the other 90% they can get the candy or the toy they really want. Teaching this principle is the perfect way to teach about discipline and long-term savings.
It is a given that a six-year-old will not get the "rainy day" theory, and talking to them about the privilege of driving may not win brownie points; but after saving 10% over the years, they can see how it adds up. This is a valuable teaching for when they get their first job. They will be used to saving that 10% already
You can also share with them about putting some money to the side to give to a charity they are interested in. Concepts like this teach them even more about managing their money.
As Your Child Grows
When your child is more mature, take him or her to the bank with you and open a line of savings in their (and your) name. Once or twice a month, take your child to the bank so they can deposit their money into their account. Let them see the bank statement and watch how their money is growing with the help of interest.
It is a good idea for them to know that interest is a big part of saving and spending. With interest you either pay more or earn more; it all depends on what the interest is for. It is a good idea to show teenagers that if a debt is not paid for in 30 days, they will end up paying more for an item than the purchase price.
One way to show how detrimental or great interest can be is by doing some role-play. Pick an item your teenager currently wants to purchase on a credit card. Make a chart showing how making only the minimum payment affects the total debt (you'll also need to explain APR), how long it takes to pay off the debt with minimum payments, and how much interest is paid in total.
On that same note, take the number of months it took to pay off the credit card and show how much interest he/she'd be making in a savings account while putting money away to save for that item. The amount of interest isn't much, but the point to make is if you save money to purchase the item, you will only pay that sum without the additional cost of interest.
The purpose of teaching your child about money is to get them to see the value in proper money management.
About the Author:
Laura Nelson-Smith is the resident editor of Career & Finance at http://www.Schmoozins.com - an online magazine for women that gives all women a voice. Join us as a contributor, schmoozer or just hang out a while.
posted by Debt Consolidation Loan at
7:04 AM
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