How And When To Teach Your Kids About Money
As a child,
money seems to somehow grow on trees as mum and dad always appear to have
money to buy things.
Even though
this is clearly not
the case, its unfortunately
the perception
of children who
live in a very consumer oriented
world. Rather than letting your child grow
up thinking
that money comes easily,
you need to institute
some form
of education
that teaches
them how to
understand and use money
wisely. Teach
them young and
they will carry forward that knowledge and live a
better financial life. Heres a few
tips how :
From ages 3
- 7
1. Show
them the value
of money by explaining what
$2 can and can't buy. It may be an idea to do
this whilst walking down the super market aisle
or toy aisle (if you are
game!). 2. Let them watch you pay
for things. You may even start by letting them hand
over the cash or pressing the OK button on the ATM.
3. Do not give them notes. Pay
their pocket money in
coins as your children need to understand how to allocate
their money.
4. Show them how to visualise their goals. Get them to draw what
they want to save up for.
Keep the goals realistic otherwise
they will very quickly lose interest.
What they
learn - Different things have
different values.
Money simply doesn't grow on trees and that you have to
work for your money.
You have to allocate your money for different things
From ages 7 - 12
1. Encourage them to participate in the school banking programme. This will give them a
sense of regular commitment to savings.
2. Get them interested in looking at their
bank statements and following how
much money they are saving. This will get them
used to scanning banking
paperwork. 3. Get them to start thinking
of a long term saving
goal and work
out how long it will take them to reach that goal.
4. Give them a combination of notes and coins for their pocket money. This will really strengthen their allocation abilities and efficient usage of spare change.
5. Start showing them the family bills and
explain positively that the bills have to be paid to keep the family going.
What they will learn
Saving is a planned activity and something that needs a bit of
thought rather that just putting away
what's left over.
The value of small change
It
takes a fair bit of money and good money management skills to keep a
roof over their
head. For Teenagers
1. Encourage them to set up their own bank account and use
internet banking.
2.
Direct debit their pocket money into their account. This will get them used to dealing with
intangible payments, and that
electronic money
is not just a set of numbers.
3. Make them responsible for their own bills
such as mobiles. This is a very quick way to
teach them how to spend wisely.
4. Try not to lend money to them for
purchases that are of an extravagant nature. If they really want
it, encourage them to get a part time job to save up
enough. If you do
loan money to them, do
so only on the grounds that you will reduce the amount of their pocket money until the loan is paid.
5. Charge them board if they have a part time job - this will start getting them into the habit of paying their way for things they take for granted -
like food and shelter!!
6. Introduce them to the concept of return on investment. Show them the value of putting some of their money into high
interest savings accounts or even into managed investments.
7. Highlight the fact that if they start now they will be so much better off down the track.
What they learn
Not only will they learn more
modern and more efficient banking techniques they will also learn how to curb their wants, or find ways to earn rather than going into
debt for something that is not totally
necessary. It
takes money to create money.
Greg R Smith is money expert
from Australia who is recognized for
his gift to translate the often complex money world into
simple over the
kitchen table language.
He is a qualified financial planner with over 20
years experience and is also a best selling an author, TV presenter, columnist, public speaker and radio presenter. He is also the inventor of a revolutionary money box that will change the way children learn about money forever - visit
http://www.moneyedbox.com for more.