Money Tips for Children

In our current economic situation it is more important now than ever before to help our children to understand the concepts of money & to help them to develop good money habits.

Here you will find a number of tips and ideas to help you to teach your kids some sound financial skills.

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Tip #1 - Have your child help write the weekly shopping list. This will help you to explain to them the difference between needs & wants. eg. Ice Cream is a want, whereas Milk is a need.

Tip #2 - Go over the family budget with your child. Let them see that so much money must go towards Electricity, Rent / Mortgage, Gas / Petrol, Clothes, Savings, etc.

Tip #3 - If your child earns some money at a casual job, eg Baby Sitting, Lemonade Stand, Garage Sale, etc. Become the Tax Man. Help your child to understand that when they do start working for real, they will have to pay part of everything they earn in taxes. (Place they money you take from them in a savings account for them.)

Tip #4 - Teach your child to write down exactly what they spend their money on each week. And then at the end of each month, sit down and review the list with them, without being judgmental. This way they can see that some things that they felt they had to have at the time, may not have been the best buying decisions after all.

Tip #5 - Open a Bank account for your child & have them save at least 10% of their allowance or any other moneys they earn. Then every time they get a bank statement, go over this with them so they can see the money growing.

Tip #6 - Following of from tip 5, if your child ever takes money out of their bank account, make sure that you highlight this when going through their bank statement with them. Let them know how much money they would now have if they had not withdrawn the money. (Make sure you keep tabs on this so after 12 months you can show them what they would have if they had not taken out any money during the year)

Tip #7 - Give your child an allowance in such a way that will encourage saving. For example, instead of giving them a $10 bill, give them money in smaller increments, such as a $5 bill & five $1 bills (coins). That way it will be easier to set aside some of the money immediately.

Tip #8 - Play games that stress the value of money, such as Monopoly, Hasbro The Game of Life, or Rich Dad Cashflow for Kids.

Tip #9 - Teach your child that with money comes responsibility. Encourage them to set aside some of their money for charity, or a worth cause such as famine relief.

Tip #10 - Sponsor a child through World Vision or Compassion & have your child contribute an amount each month. Encourage them to also write letters to the sponsored child.

Tip #11 - If your child is saving for something specific, encourage them to save double the amount, so that all of their had earned savings are not all gone in one transaction. This will also encourage them to learn delayed gratification.

Tip #12 - Understand that children learn best by watching us. Set a good example for your children & not just spend money on the spare of the moment.

Tip #13 - Have your child create a "Vision Board". Get your child to go through some old magazines & catalogues, & get them to cut out pictures of things that they want to save for. Then paste these pictures to a large piece of card & hang this up in a prominent place where they will be constantly reminded of what they are saving for.

For many more great Ideas & Money Tips for Children, be sure to get yourself a copy of Teaching Your Children About Money.