As parents, we see the need and importance of teaching our children about saving money and at the same time, also think that it is a very challenging task. The first impression of children when it comes to money is that it is for spending. Every time they get their hands on money, they immediately think of what things to buy.
Teaching our children how to save is not as difficult as it seems. Here are some tips to consider in educating them financially.
1.) Have money talks with children. We talk about a lot of things with our kids, but do we talk about money? Some parents may disagree and say that talking about money is too early for kids since kids really don’t care about it after all. This is wrong because talking about money to kids on a regular basis will give them an impression of what money is all about and eventually help them develop the right money mindset. If we don’t regularly talk to our kids about money, they will run into the possibility of developing the wrong attitude about money.
2.) Develop a frugal lifestyle. Action speaks louder than words, hence if our kids see the kind of lifestyle that we have, they will develop it. Our lifestyle will show how we are dealing with finances and if we live a frugal lifestyle, it will create a very good impression on our kids. Kids will always grow up the way their parents let them,hence if we want our kids to become efficient when it comes to money decisions, there is no better thing to do than to teach by example.
3.) Let them apply the things that they learn. Knowledge is useless if it’s not being put into action, hence we should provide the necessary tools in order for our kids to apply the things that they have learned. Good examples of applying the things that they have learned are saving money in piggy banks, opening bank accounts and tracking the progress of their savings. If they see their money grow, they will be encouraged to save even more. Eventually, they will develop the habit of saving and later on, even without your guidance, they will be saving on their own.
4.) Draft a learning path. Our kids will grow, and as they grow older their level of communication and knowledge increases; hence we should be ready to teach them a higher level of money talks. Some ways of letting them learn consistently is by buying books for them. Search and let them read articles online, procure audio and video files about money and finances and even enroll them in lectures and seminars about financial planning if they are of the right age already.
5.) Make learning fun. Whether we like it or not, children often prefer fun over learning or studying, especially if they are still very young. Hence in order to win their attention, let us make learning or studying fun. One way of making money learning fun is through games. There are a lot of games that can help increase the financial IQ of kids such as Monopoly. They will have fun and at the same time, will be become more inclined to save and become more aware of finance. Another way of making learning fun is through the rewards concept. The rewards concept is simply letting children do something and giving them rewards upon accomplishing tasks. This is already very prevalent since a lot of parents are giving their kids things that they want to have after getting good grades or awards in school. Why not apply the same principle when teaching kids about money?