Are you a spender or a saver? Or a combination of both? What are you teaching your kids about money? What do they learn from your words? What about from your actions? What children learn about money while they are young cannot help but impact the rest of their lives. I have a few tips that you can use as you teach your children financial freedom. One goal is to learn the concept of SAVINGS and that is the acronym guiding my tips today. 🙂
Store up some of their money from birthday gifts and allowance. Even if a child is able to earn some of his/her money, help them to see the importance of planning ahead in case of an emergency. Either help them start a bank account or purchase a piggy bank that is not very accessible. The earlier you can start this practice, the easier developing a lifelong habit of setting aside money will be.
Allow children to make some purchases on a whim. Spending five dollars foolishly is much easier to recover from than frivolously shelling out one hundred dollars or even a thousand dollars. If a child buys a toy that instantly breaks, discuss how that feels. We all make mistakes and learning while you are young can be much easier. This one has been hard for me especially in the seasons where money has been tight. But I would much rather encourage spending freedom now than watch them go on spending sprees and on credit card compulsive charging when they are young adults and on their own.
Value more than what money can buy. Teach your children that there is more to being rich than just dollar signs. While money is necessary, at the same time, love is far more essential. When too much emphasis is placed on money, this can cause kids to be judgmental of those who have not or jealous of those who do. Gratitude is also an important quality to pass on.
Investigate bargains. Choose discounts deliberately. Perhaps coupon cutting is not for you. Yet you can still choose to only buy items at specific times rather than on a whim. Even today, I cringe anytime that I have to buy something that is not sale. That is because I was trained from an early age to wait on certain purchases. Buy ahead whenever possible by frequenting clearance racks
Navigate your kids away from too watching too many advertisements, flipping through catalogs and scrolling online retail websites. Discontentment is contagious. The more they see, the more they want. The same could be true of aimless shopping trips where you didn’t mean to buy anything, but … Perhaps we all need to follow this suggestion!
Give. Perhaps this particular tip does not make sense in a post about saving. Yet I want my kids to learn to think of others. Greed is not something that I want my kids to struggle with, and if they hold too tightly on to money, it is no longer saving but hoarding.
Set long-term financial goals with your children. Do they hope to buy their own vehicles someday? Do they want to play on a select sports team? Do they want to play a musical instrument? Help them start a fund, then have them contribute part of their savings when the time comes for these bigger purchases. When everything is given to a child, he or she is not going to learn that life can expensive. In addition, by partnering with you in these bigger moments, they are naturally going to be more invested in the purchase or in the event.
What are ways that you teach your kid about money?
~ Suzanne
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