Money plays an important role in our society. A person's ability to earn, spend, and save money influences their success in life as well as a person's skills in managing and sharing their money and their willingness to repay their debts. As with most essential life skills, a good parental example is your child's best teacher in money concepts, but there are a number of other things you can do to teach your child to be responsible with their money.
Start by having an open relationship about money an financial issues. Discuss the various things you both need, like a place to live, food to eat, and clothing. Talk about the amount of money each of these things cost and where the money comes from. Show your child how you, your spouse, or both of you must work to earn money for these things.
Also talk about wants and how they differ from needs. Name a few of your own wants and ask your child to name a few as well. Explain that the money you make each week is used to pay for your needs first and you can only buy the things you want if there is extra money. Explain that many people save their money so they can have some of the things they want. Talk about different things you may save your money for, like vacations or new furniture, and discuss other reasons we may save as well, like for emergency situations or for gift buying.
Remember to discuss the many ways we can share money as well. Talk about charities and how to help others by donating things or money to these organizations. Involve your child in your own donations by allowing him to help choose a worthy charity or by helping to select items needed for canned food or toy drives. You can also use this opportunity to begin warning your child of scams or imposters who will not use their money to help others.
By the time your child is a preschooler or in early elementary school, she is ready for hands-on experience in money management. Give your child opportunities to earn money. They can earn an allowance for doing jobs around the house or receive money for gifts, good grades, or good behavior. Children should be expected to do chores around the house as a responsibility, but money can be earned for extra jobs and tasks.
Help your child keep track of his money. Provide him with a wallet to carry his money in and a bank to save with. Also teach him to record and track what he receives and where it goes. As soon as your child starts earning money, set your own expectations for its use. Encourage your child to save and to share before he spends anything. A good guideline is to choose a charity or cause to donate 10 percent to and to put another 10 percent in his savings bank.
Search for quality organizations that interest your child, like a wildlife fund or an orphanage, and write down a few he would like to share his money with. You may want to collect the ?share? money and send a check or pay online if your child can not give the money in person. Also have your child think of things he would like to save his money for. Encourage him to set goals to save a specific amount for something special.
Allow your child to make his own decisions on how he spends his money. Offer guidelines and do set a few expectations, but let him learn as he experiences total costs, like added accessories for a toy or how snacks raise the cost of a movie. He will also begin to learn that quality often affects the price of an item and demand does as well. Use these experiences as teaching opportunities and allow your child to learn from his mistakes and bad decisions.
As your child begins to grasp the concepts of money and how the economy works, you can continue to expand and teach new ideas like borrowing and the difference in long-term and short-term savings. There are a number of games and books available to enhance your child's learning. Educational software, like Let's Learn: Money and Economics, are fun ways for children to gain a better understanding of earning, spending, and saving.
Having children emphasizes the importance of making and caring for money, since you are responsible for other people and their standard of living. The habits that may have worked when you were alone no longer will. Households made up if one or two parents will be able to benefit from the following suggestions.
Use generic brands as often as you can. The generic brands of a lot of foods are the same thing as the name brands, but bought wholesale from a distributor. If kids don't like generic cereal, ease them into it. Nine times out of ten, it is the name brand that they are hung up on. Pour the cereal out of the package and into a container. They probably won't be able to tell the difference.
The dollar store sells many name brand and generic varieties of common toiletries: soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, and household cleaners. To save money, shop here for frequently used items before visiting the grocery store. Then, when you do shop at the grocery store, use coupons for name brand items or take the opportunity to try the generic version.
Clean your clothing at home. Some of us are addicted to professional cleaning. Dry cleaning can be expensive - more expensive than it needs to be. The grocery store sells Dryel dryer sheets. Dryel is formulated to dry clean clothing in a home dryer much the same way as a dry cleaner cleans clothing. You can dry clean four to six pieces of clothing per sheet and it is cheaper than using a dry cleaning service.
Buy a used car. Even though everybody loves driving a new car, getting a well cared for and certified used car will save you lots of money, since cars lose value very quickly. You can ensure that the used car you select hasnt been through any severe damage before you decide to purchase it.
Buy clothing in unexpected places. Famous named stores are not the only place to shop. Thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets, and consignment shops all sell good quality clothing. You can even find name brand items here, too. You will have to take the time and search through racks and racks of clothing, but it will be worth it to find clothing for yourself and your family at a fraction of the cost of regular department and specialty stores.
Take money for savings straight out of your paycheck. The best of intentions can fall to the wayside when it comes to savings because things just come up. Automatically depositing a certain amount of your paycheck into a savings account can be of real benefit. This can be done as soon as you have been paid. Banks can work with you to establish the best plan in your situation. For example, individuals who deposit their paycheck every two weeks can set up bank transfers that channel money to their savings account right away.
Saving money requires determination and effort. Sadly, it is never easy. Though taking out some time to get a hold of the familys financial situation is not easy or pleasant, the entire family (including the kids) is well worth it.
Both Nicole Munoz & William Blake are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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