At the current moment, the problem here where we live is lack of jobs. I suppose you could up and move around to find the work, but it's not exactly possible for a 16 year old to move half way across the country. Even though my son is 5, and my daughter is almost 3, I'm worried about their future. Will they be able to find a job when they're 16? Will they be able to save in order to pay for university or college to eleminate the need of a large amount of student debt? I can honestly say I don't know.
What I do know is that I can prepare them, teach them tools, and give them the resources to make wise financial decisions. These are my own personal tools, resources, and advice. I'm not a professional in any way, I've had no training, I'm merely trying to help you teach your children about the imporance of budgeting and money.
First thing's first. Let your child open up a bank account, and let them have their own bank card. They don't have to have a wallet, and you don't have to let them have their bank card all of the time, but let them have an account. If you think your children are too young for a savings account, you can always start out with a piggy bank or a savings jar.
Why not both? If you're like me, you probably don't go to the bank every single week. Why not let your child have a piggy bank and an account? Let them fill the piggy, and then when you go into the bank, let them put their piggy bank savings into their account!
Why is this important? Well, not only will your child have their account for probably the rest of their lives, but they'll be able to track their own savings with a little bank book. When they see how much they're saving, they'll be motivated to save more. Teach your children the importance of saving for their futures.
Give them a goal. A goal is something that your child can work to achieve. Start small, and let them set their own goal, or help them create their own goal. You'll be surprised how hard your children will work when they're given a goal to complete. There are lots of things your child can do around the house, 5 cents for each pair of socks they put together? 25cents for putting away their clothing in the correct drawers? It doesn't have to be huge, but it's engaging.
Make sure you follow through with rewarding them. Trust plays a huge importance in teaching your children about finances.
Why is this important? Just like an adult, children need motivation. If you give them a goal, they'll work hard to complete it for the reward afterwards. As adults, we work hard in our jobs for things like promotions or bonus', teaching our children to work hard for their own money will eliminate surprises later on in life (if you're lazy, you'll miss out on that extra bit of money...).
Give them an allowance. An allowance, just like a payday, is money your children have earned throughout the week/2 weeks for completing their daily tasks. Give your children a chore chart (there's tons of great children's chores throughout the ages on things like Pinterest or Google. Find out what's best for your children's age.), and explain to them that as long as all of the chores are done, they'll get an allowance.
Why is this important? Everyone has a job. Everyone get's a paycheque. Let your children recieve their own paycheque while also helping you clean your house. You get a clean house (well...you get some things done, and when you have kids, you'll take anything cleaner), and they'll get rewarded with their own little paycheque. The amount should be child appropriate. Children as young as mine are shouldn't be walking around with 20$ in their pockets or anything like that. We try to go by the ages in my house, as well as how much work was done.
Minimum for my 5 year old? 5$. Minimum for my 2 year old? 2$. Maximum is 10$ for my older one, 5$ for my younger one.
Teach them to budget. Children should learn how to budget their money using the easiest form of budgeting. A chart. Let them sit around you and watch you make out your own budget, but don't ever worry them with your family's finances.
Teach them that they should split their allowance into savings and spending. Half of my children's allowance goes to savings, and they're allowed to spend the other half on whatever they'd like to. They might not be able to buy an entire lego set, or that doll they really love right now, but that's OK. Use it as a learning oppertunity and tell them that if they save their spending money, they'll be able to afford that specific thing.
Why is this important? Just like everything else in this world, life isn't always fair. When you spoil your children by getting them every single thing they want, not only will you result in more tantrums when you say "no," but they'll grow up thinking that whenever they want something, all they have to do is TELL you they want it because they know you'll get it for them. Let your children have responsibility, and let them work hard and save for what they want. They'll be about 50X more satisfied when they get that toy with their own money, than if you buy it for them.
Let them be the owner of their own Small Business. Remember the days when we use to have lemonade stands on the front lawn? Your children can do it too! Let them be entrepreneurs! Here's some fun things your children can do:
Turn grocery shopping into a teaching experience. In our family, we coupon. I let my children help me coupon as well. Sometimes, they even have their own coupons to use on their own purchases. If you're a beginner couponer, or your children are beginner coupons (meaning, you only occasionally use coupons to save small amounts. 20% savings is better than 0%), you can turn something like couponing into a great family activity. Teach your kids to clip, and match coupons from your local flyers.
Why is this important? When your children see you save money in every day things like groceries, they'll learn to save money in the same type of ways. They'll use coupons when they're older and teach their kids the same tricks to save.
All of these activities are engaging for kids, and they're good family activities as well. These activities will teach your kids financial responsibility, and the importance of good financial decisions. Always remember to invest in your children, and help them save and achieve their goals. Be there for your children, and support them every step of the way. Stay engaged in your children's activities no matter how small, and encourage your children.
Even if you're uncertain about your children's futures, whether or not your children will have a job, or whether or not they'll invest in their education one thing is for sure, you'll have given your children the tools and resorces they'll need to make wise financial decisions. Children are impressionable, they learn what they're taught (and sometimes, they'll learn the wrong things.), and it's up to us as parents to teach them the right, responsible things; Socially, emotionally, physically, and financially.
What I do know is that I can prepare them, teach them tools, and give them the resources to make wise financial decisions. These are my own personal tools, resources, and advice. I'm not a professional in any way, I've had no training, I'm merely trying to help you teach your children about the imporance of budgeting and money.
First thing's first. Let your child open up a bank account, and let them have their own bank card. They don't have to have a wallet, and you don't have to let them have their bank card all of the time, but let them have an account. If you think your children are too young for a savings account, you can always start out with a piggy bank or a savings jar.
Why not both? If you're like me, you probably don't go to the bank every single week. Why not let your child have a piggy bank and an account? Let them fill the piggy, and then when you go into the bank, let them put their piggy bank savings into their account!
Why is this important? Well, not only will your child have their account for probably the rest of their lives, but they'll be able to track their own savings with a little bank book. When they see how much they're saving, they'll be motivated to save more. Teach your children the importance of saving for their futures.
Give them a goal. A goal is something that your child can work to achieve. Start small, and let them set their own goal, or help them create their own goal. You'll be surprised how hard your children will work when they're given a goal to complete. There are lots of things your child can do around the house, 5 cents for each pair of socks they put together? 25cents for putting away their clothing in the correct drawers? It doesn't have to be huge, but it's engaging.
Make sure you follow through with rewarding them. Trust plays a huge importance in teaching your children about finances.
Why is this important? Just like an adult, children need motivation. If you give them a goal, they'll work hard to complete it for the reward afterwards. As adults, we work hard in our jobs for things like promotions or bonus', teaching our children to work hard for their own money will eliminate surprises later on in life (if you're lazy, you'll miss out on that extra bit of money...).
Give them an allowance. An allowance, just like a payday, is money your children have earned throughout the week/2 weeks for completing their daily tasks. Give your children a chore chart (there's tons of great children's chores throughout the ages on things like Pinterest or Google. Find out what's best for your children's age.), and explain to them that as long as all of the chores are done, they'll get an allowance.
Why is this important? Everyone has a job. Everyone get's a paycheque. Let your children recieve their own paycheque while also helping you clean your house. You get a clean house (well...you get some things done, and when you have kids, you'll take anything cleaner), and they'll get rewarded with their own little paycheque. The amount should be child appropriate. Children as young as mine are shouldn't be walking around with 20$ in their pockets or anything like that. We try to go by the ages in my house, as well as how much work was done.
Minimum for my 5 year old? 5$. Minimum for my 2 year old? 2$. Maximum is 10$ for my older one, 5$ for my younger one.
Teach them to budget. Children should learn how to budget their money using the easiest form of budgeting. A chart. Let them sit around you and watch you make out your own budget, but don't ever worry them with your family's finances.
Teach them that they should split their allowance into savings and spending. Half of my children's allowance goes to savings, and they're allowed to spend the other half on whatever they'd like to. They might not be able to buy an entire lego set, or that doll they really love right now, but that's OK. Use it as a learning oppertunity and tell them that if they save their spending money, they'll be able to afford that specific thing.
Why is this important? Just like everything else in this world, life isn't always fair. When you spoil your children by getting them every single thing they want, not only will you result in more tantrums when you say "no," but they'll grow up thinking that whenever they want something, all they have to do is TELL you they want it because they know you'll get it for them. Let your children have responsibility, and let them work hard and save for what they want. They'll be about 50X more satisfied when they get that toy with their own money, than if you buy it for them.
Let them be the owner of their own Small Business. Remember the days when we use to have lemonade stands on the front lawn? Your children can do it too! Let them be entrepreneurs! Here's some fun things your children can do:
- Let them have a table all to themselves at your next yard sale.
- Let them clean up family member's lawns. Help your children by telling family member's that your child is trying to earn some extra money, and will clean up their yards for X$'s.
- Let your child shovel snow from people's driveways! As long as you're supervising or even helping out, you can both have fun exercising by doing this family activity.
- Help your child have a bake sale.
- Help your child sell water, soda, treats, etc. at a local event. A lot of places will let you rent out a "lot" to set up a table to sell just about anything. Let your child set up their own table and take control of it.
- Walk with them and let them collect redeemable bottles and cans. Often times, a short walk can yeild 50 cents. Give them a wagon and let them pick up the bottles and cans they find, save them all up, and bring them in once a month to get redeemed. You'll get exercise, and your child can budget the money they've earned.
Turn grocery shopping into a teaching experience. In our family, we coupon. I let my children help me coupon as well. Sometimes, they even have their own coupons to use on their own purchases. If you're a beginner couponer, or your children are beginner coupons (meaning, you only occasionally use coupons to save small amounts. 20% savings is better than 0%), you can turn something like couponing into a great family activity. Teach your kids to clip, and match coupons from your local flyers.
Why is this important? When your children see you save money in every day things like groceries, they'll learn to save money in the same type of ways. They'll use coupons when they're older and teach their kids the same tricks to save.
All of these activities are engaging for kids, and they're good family activities as well. These activities will teach your kids financial responsibility, and the importance of good financial decisions. Always remember to invest in your children, and help them save and achieve their goals. Be there for your children, and support them every step of the way. Stay engaged in your children's activities no matter how small, and encourage your children.
Even if you're uncertain about your children's futures, whether or not your children will have a job, or whether or not they'll invest in their education one thing is for sure, you'll have given your children the tools and resorces they'll need to make wise financial decisions. Children are impressionable, they learn what they're taught (and sometimes, they'll learn the wrong things.), and it's up to us as parents to teach them the right, responsible things; Socially, emotionally, physically, and financially.
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