No one is born knowing how to manage money.<\/p>\n
Our children need a slow and steady introduction to the topic of how to make smart money decisions, just like the process of learning to read. (No one starts out reading War and Peace<\/em>.) Then, they need practice and increased responsibility–bit by bit, year by year, until they can successfully fly solo. <\/p>\n Don\u2019t worry if your current financial situation isn\u2019t perfect–no one\u2019s is. By involving your children in conversations about money you\u2019ll be able to learn together, impart wisdom, teach them from your mistakes, and ensure that they have the tools to make smart money decisions on their own someday.<\/p>\n Here are 5 ways my husband and I have started teaching money smarts to our children:<\/p>\n 1) Review the Family Budget Together Our kids know that mom and dad work to earn money. They also know that our income goes to pay for things like groceries, clothes, and toys. Recently, we\u2019ve introduced some of the more unseen budget categories like utilities, retirement, car repairs, and Christmas savings.<\/p>\n Seeing what a budget is and how it works gives our kids ownership of the process and an understanding of why we do what we do each month. When we say, \u201cThere isn\u2019t any more eating-out money left,\u201d they understand why. When we talk about prioritizing expenses they grasp why we pay for our lights to stay on before we shop for toys.<\/p>\n 2) Let Kids Handle Money There is no better way to learn about money than to actually be responsible for it. Our kids earn a commission on specific chores that are above and beyond the basic requirements of helping our family function. For example, without payment everyone is required to put away their own clothes when the laundry is done. We also all clear our dishes from the table after dinner. These two chores are about being responsible for things we own and cleaning up the messes we make. Chores that earn payment are things that are extra helpful, like organizing projects, emptying the dishwasher, and folding towels.<\/p>\n With the commission they make for extra work, they practice counting, giving, saving, and, of course, spending!<\/p>\n 3) Embrace the Fun of Window Shopping Whenever we go to Target, I let my kids hold my phone and take pictures of things they like. This has eliminated the \u201cI want this!\u201d and \u201cCan we buy this?\u201d talk and has given them a fun focus while I shop for what we actually need. It\u2019s like window shopping 21st century style!<\/p>\n My kids have learned that as fun as it is to buy toys, it\u2019s often just as fun to look at them. It also gives them a starting point when referencing what they would like to save for. Impulse purchases plague our country (hello, credit card debt!) so teaching my kids to walk slowly, make a long list of what they would like, and then practice narrowing it down and saving teaches them skills that will hopefully minimize impulsive decisions now and in the future.<\/p>\n 4) Practice Delayed Gratification My husband and I practice delayed gratification often and talk through our plans with the kids so they see that as a family we are saving rather than borrowing for immediate gratification. Right now they know that Daddy is saving for a new-to-him truck and together we are all working a little extra to fund a trip to Disneyland.<\/p>\n No one likes to wait. That\u2019s just not human nature! But, delaying gratification is a valuable skill that our children can learn. It helps them discover many things are worth the wait.<\/p>\n 5) Choose Wise Words When Discussing Money around Your Kids<\/b><\/p>\n We must be careful with the words we use when describing money. We don’t want to instill a mentality of scarcity in our kids or turn them into tightfisted little misers.<\/p>\n Talk about money as a tool – it works for us and does exactly what we tell it to. We own it, it doesn’t own us. Make sure they know that money is something we can give to those in need and trustworthy organizations. In our family, we use the \u201cOpen hands\u201dapproach, meaning that money comes in and money goes out. And that’s just the way it is supposed to be. And, just like a well-tended garden, money is something that can grow. Just getting by month to month isn’t the goal. We want to practice and teaching our children about wise investments. Money is important, obviously, or we wouldn\u2019t be discussing it, but it should never be the focus.<\/p>\n How are you teaching your kids to make smart money decisions? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No one is born knowing how to manage money. Our children need a slow and steady introduction to the topic of how to make smart money decisions, just like the process of learning to read. (No one starts out reading War and Peace.) Then, they need practice and increased responsibility–bit by bit, year by year, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":29082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[225],"tags":[29],"ppma_author":[1235],"class_list":["post-20827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-advice","tag-parenting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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