Teaching Money Management to Young Children

by Laura Nelson-Smith

Kids learn about importance money has in life by watching how the adults in their lives use money. Showing your child the many ways that money is used is the most constructive way to show them the value of the dollar.

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

You also want to talk about the significance of saving money. Tell them that a kid with a few bucks can buy candy that they will eat right away or a toy that will break because it is cheap. Next explain that if that child saves the money and adds more to it over time, they will be able to buy something with more value that will last a little 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.

Sure, a six-year-old won’t understand the “rainy day” concept, and driving in ten years may be discouraging. But after saving 10% over the years, it’ll add up. This teaching is especially helpful when they get their first job and are already in the habit of saving that 10% for long-term use.

You might also set aside a certain percentage for charitable giving, so kids can also learn about this important aspect of managing money.

As Your Child Grows

When your child is older,take him or her to the bank with you and open savings account for them. Decide to take them to the bank monthly so they can deposit their savings into the account. Allow them to view the bank statement so they can see how money is grows with the assistance of interest.

Interest is a huge part of using money. Either it’ll make you pay more than what your item was originally worth (credit) or it can help you make more money. Teenagers need to understand that unless you can pay off that debt within 30 days, you’ll actually be paying more for your purchased item.

One of the best ways to teach about how good or bad interest can be is by role-playing. You can find an item your teenager wants to pay for with a credit card as an example. Make a chart showing that by only making the minimum payment, it will take longer and cost more because of interest.

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 goal of teaching how money works is to get children to hopefully see the importance of responsibility when making decisions about money.

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.

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Teaching Money Management to Young Children