Last updated on April 22nd, 2023 at 06:58 pm
Do you save money for your kids? Maybe they have their own bank accounts or piggy banks! Both are great ways to start from the time they are born. Even if you are investors in property and you plan on leaving money to your kids, you may want to educate them on saving. Here’s how you can do it.
FIRST: TALK TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT MONEY
But do you sit down and talk about the importance of saving money to them, at a young age? What about the difference between saving up for big items they may want rather than splurge on little items that aren’t worth it?
Money is an important subject to regularly talk to your kids about. I think in the past, we haven’t been educated early enough on how to save, why we should save and not live off just credit. My generation is very bad for buying with credit first before they even have the money to get what they want. I have seen too many friends in debt, way over their heads. It’s challenging to live like that.
I also have seen far too many friends not save money for their kids when they are growing up and go into big debt to either give them a car, help them with a house or to further their education with college tuition fees. We need to save money for them earlier. We need to learn about how easy it is to save money so we don’t put too much pressure on ourselves doing so. We need to educate our children about money in the meantime before they get in over their heads when they first move out of the house. Preparation and talking is so important.
SECOND: START A BANK ACCOUNT or PIGGY BANK AT HOME
This not only makes it easy for your children to get involved with saving money for their future but it also helps you in doing so. They are learning the importance of saving money just by watching you do it.
Why not have them put it in the piggy bank or go to the bank with you to deposit the money themselves?
Kids watch and learn from our actions as parents. They see if we are splurging in the store or putting money into a piggy bank. They watch to see if we say things like, we don’t need that or we need to save money for our holidays. Phrases like this, clue them into the world of saving and not wasting money just because they want that toy from the shop.
THIRD: SET MONEY CHALLENGES
Perhaps make a few money challenges for you and your family to set goals to hit within a time frame. This makes saving money fun, educational, and pays in the end. No pun, intended. Click here for some money challenges to kick start you.
Or perhaps save for Christmas coming up. Have each child put money aside to buy their Grandparents a present each. They will feel the benefits of earning that money and the great feeling of passing over a gift that they worked hard to save for. Keep it small, just trying to teach them the different reasons they should save and spend their money.
FOURTH: TEACH THEM THE BENEFITS OF SAVING MONEY
Saving money doesn’t have to be boring, it can be fun. Make them a chart for items they really want that are bigger, like a large lego set. I put on the chart LEGO SET and the amount and my son saves his chore money and asks for extra chores to earn money to add up to said item. They see the benefit is a new toy.
Don’t make it just about rewarding themselves though. As mentioned above, have them save money for a present for a friend’s party (keep it small) or grandparent’s Christmas present. They will understand how good it feels to work hard and buy someone else something.
Never let them spend all their money out of their savings. Teach them the importance and benefit of saving money for the future. Perhaps they want a nice car, go to college, or a house someday. (For slightly older children) Its never too early to save for the future. We have bank accounts for all three children and they get money put into it by relatives for special occasions and this is money for the future that they don’t touch themselves. We explain why, they can spend some of their money but never all their money.
You can also show them the importance of being patient when it comes to spending and shopping around for a good deal. Why buy that new car you want when you can wait a little longer, save up and then buy that Audi A3 for sale when it’s discounted? It’s about setting good examples when it comes to spending.
We hope doing these few little things, they will grow up to be better at their finances than our generation. We want them to be financially smart. We never want them to know the pain of being in debt over their heads. Hopefully they will be smart with their money and teach their kids the same in the future.
How do you educate your kids on money? How do you save money for your kids and the family????
*collaboration
