Teaching your kids about money will help them appreciate it in the long run
How much do your kids know about money? Do they get pocket money every month? Do they appreciate the value of money?
These are some great tips to teach your kids about money now so they can reap the benefits later. Of course, their mathematical skills can tie in to this and can consequentially help them improve their skills by applying them to the real world.
Saving vs spending vs sharing
Saving, spending and sharing are equally important and can teach your kids incredibly valuable skills. Label three Mason jars: “Saving,” “Spending” and “Sharing.” When your child receives their monthly pocket money, Christmas or Birthday money, explain the importance of the three jars: why we need to save long-term for the things we really want, how spending money on “nice to haves” is a great reward and how sharing - donating to a worthy cause has a two-fold effect on their life as well as someone else’s. Getting them to keep a little notebook to keep track on their spending will assist in improving their arithmetic.
Setting goals
Has your child set a long-term spending goal, like buying a toy or tablet? Help them research the product and make sure they are getting the best possible price and that it is realistic and affordable (so they won’t be saving for a year or more). You don’t want to set your kids up for failure in this regard – they might get bored and uninterested after a while and spend their money on something unnecessary.
Money in the real world
Include your child in some of your day-to-day financial decisions. As a mom, I understand that taking kids grocery shopping can be quite a headache! However, depending on the age and maturity of your kids, take some time to talk about why you’ve picked one product over another, why you only buy specific products on sale and why no-name-brands are more often than not, just as good (and sometimes better!) than branded products. They will (hopefully) become more conscious of the price of the items they chuck into the trolley and begin to use these skills long term.
Teaching money through play
A fun way to teach kids about the value of money is through “play” money. Our South African Big 5 and Play Money Madiba consists of Rands (R200, R100, R50, R20, R10) and cents (50c, 20c, 10c, 5c) for easy recognition and real currency feel. Each set consists of eight pieces of each denomination, packed in a polybag. Find them here.
You might also want to read about how your kids can save their pocket money.
