Important Money Lessons Parents Should Teach Their Kids
As soon as your little one learns and understands money, it's ideal to teach them important financial lessons that they can't learn in school. One can never be too young to learn the value of handling money well - it's a lesson that one will carry from childhood through adulthood. It's important that you not only teach the lessons to your child but also practice what you preach.
Here are some effective ways to teach children about money:
Teach them the value of waiting
According to experts, you can never start too early to teach financial lessons to children. It's important to let kids know that if they want something, they can't always get it right away - they have to learn how to wait.
For example, you go to a toy store to buy a birthday present for your child's friend. You can calmly explain to your little one that you only have enough money to buy his friend's toy and that he can get his next time you go back. This sends the message that he can't always get what he wants every time you go into a store.
Create money jars
Money jars or piggy banks are the easiest way to teach young ones about money and the importance of saving. You can have 2 jars, one of which you can label "For saving" and the other one "For spending".
Each time your child earns money from chores or receives some from special occasions like his birthday or Christmas, teach him to divide the money between the 2 jars. He can equally divide the money for spending or for saving, but if he's saving up for something expensive, he should put his money in the saving jar. The money inside the spending jar can be used to purchase small items such as candy, stickers, or small toys.
Include the little one in financial decisions
It would help young ones understand the concept of money if you show them first hand. When you're at the grocery store, you can involve him in financial decisions by explaining why you chose a particular brand of juice over the other. You can say "I chose this juice because it costs $1 less but tastes the same as the other brand." Simple things like that go a long way!