**This is a collaborative post
Money matters, it’s important to teach our kids everything they need to know if they’re going to be successful financially as adults. So many young people end up in debt or struggling with money simply because they’ve never been taught how to use it properly. Here are some of the ways we can teach children and teens about money.
Let them know the value of hard work
As parents, we want to make sure our kids have everything they could ever want and need. In some cases, we might want to give them all the things we never had as children. It’s a wonderful thing to ensure they never go without, however it can come at a price. When things are given freely, it’s human nature to begin to take them for granted. When wishes are granted easily and they never have to want for anything, they can be appreciated less. This isn’t the fault of your children, it’s just how we are as a species. For this reason, it’s important not to ‘spoil’ children too much. If they want something, show them that it needs to be earned. You could assign age- appropriate chores and pay them a sum of money for each that’s done to a good standard. Over the weeks and months, they can save up for something they really want and when they eventually get it it will mean so much more to them. This helps to teach responsibility and shows them that money is earned, it doesn’t just grow on trees so if you want something then you have to work hard for it.
Teach them budgeting skills
We’re lucky to live in a part of the world where the schooling system is excellent. Children are properly socialised, they learn respect, they leave school being able to read, write, do maths, they know about science, art and so much more. However, there are some things that schools don’t tend to teach them, there are lots of life skills that children leave school without. Being able to cook or clean, do taxes or budget money are just a few of them. As parents, that means it’s our job to step up and teach them to allow them to be independent and successful in their adult lives.
There are fun ways you can teach kids budgeting skills, one of these is give them a set amount of money for a day out and ensure that they can make it last. Factor in things like food, drinks and amusements, they will quickly learn that if they spend all of their money in one place they they’ll have none for later on which can be a good lesson to learn in life. Next time, they’re likely to do better- planning ahead more, setting a budget for each thing. Talk them through this and explain how to do it, but let them make their own mistakes so they can learn from them.
As they get older and reach their teenage years, they will most likely get a part time job and have to budget for things like money towards a car or driving lessons, luxuries and socialisation. Again, give them support or advice but let them work out the kinks themselves, it’s a good lesson for later on. So many children leave the family home with no clue about money since they’ve never had to budget for themselves. This can lead to poor money decisions and accumulating debt.
Encourage teens to work
Speaking of teens and work, this is something that’s so worth them doing. It can be difficult as a teenager balancing a social life with school, but doing a part time job really does teach discipline and the value of hard work. They learn the importance of being on time, doing what their boss tells them, doing a good job and showing up and grinding hard even if they don’t want to. It’s best to learn these lessons early on than having the shock of their life when they finally leave school and start out in the adult world of work. Since they’ll also be studying and not earning that much, you could give them incentives to keep them going. If they want a car for example, you could state that they have to pay a certain amount towards it in order for you to pay the rest. If they want luxuries such as designer clothes and technology, you could insist they buy these things for themselves- you’re paying for the roof over their head, their food, heat, school supplies and everything else after all! On top of learning about money, any job teens can do while they’re still at school will teach them valuable skills and also look good on their resume. Even if they then go on to apply for more academic jobs, their past experience could well be transferable and mean they’re more likely to get chosen than other candidates.
Save for their future
Finally, we can teach our kids everything they need to know about money. They could take it all on board. and really know all their is to know about spending within limits and budgeting. However, in many cases some extra help is always going to be needed. One of the best things you can do for your children is save so they can buy their own home in future. It prevents them from wasting money on rent, dealing with flatmate problems and generally being overcharged and stressed in their living conditions with nothing to show for it later down the line. A mortgage deposit means they can buy their own house, instead of paying rent they’d pay a mortgage with every penny of it going towards something that they own.
Don’t let your kids become a debt statistic in adulthood! Teach them what they need to know and set them up for future success.
How have you gone about teaching children and teens about money?