Money Matters: What Should You Teach Your Children About Money?

Two kidsTrain your kids to be financially responsible. It is one of the best legacies you can give them.

While there is more to life than just earning and spending money, parents should teach their children how to save, spend and invest money responsibly to better prepare them for life. How exactly can you do that? Here are some tips that can help you teach your kids some good money skills.

Teaching Children about Money: Top Tips to Consider

Let them manage their own money. You can give your children age-appropriate weekly chores beyond their typical contributions around the house and give them extra money for doing so. You can use this situation to teach them about the value of money, and why they may need to make some choices when spending their money.

Teach them how to save. You can start teaching young kids how to save money by encouraging them to keep a piggy bank. Later on, you can open a savings account for each of your kids using the money they saved in their piggy bank. Encourage them to put a portion of their money in the bank on a regular basis. You should also tell them to put any extra money in their account so that their money will grow even faster. It will also be helpful if you help them decide on a savings goal to help them understand why they are saving.

Teach them how to budget their money. Most young adults don’t know how to budget their money when they first leave home. Thus, it would be extremely helpful if you can point them toward the right direction at an early age. Take your kids with you as you do your grocery shopping and/or when shopping for gifts for special occasions and teach them how to use coupons, watch for sales and do comparison shopping. It will help them develop good shopping skills.

Discuss how they should handle their money. If you want your children to grow into financially responsible adults, discuss the value of saving, planning, staying out of debt.

Be a good example. Your kids look up to you, so use this to teach them what they need to know about money. Consider bringing them to the bank when you make a deposit or an investment, and show them how you can stretch your dollar to get the most value for your money. Be a good role model for your kids and you will surely succeed in teaching them how to manage their money.