Do you have children? Do you want you your kids to not have to worry about money as adults? Of course, you don’t. None of us want our children to live the paycheck to paycheck cycle that so many people struggle with every day.
If you want to give your kids a jump start on learning how to manage their money early here are 5 tips for helping your child learn about money management:
- Give them an allowance. How can your child learn how to manage money if they don’t have any? I know that not everyone agrees with this, but many people believe that it’s good to tie allowance into extra chores or other work that they do so they can learn what it takes to earn money as an adult instead of just giving them the money.
- Open a bank account for them. Banking is a huge part of the financial life of adults, it helps if kids can get an early start on this. This is also a great way to show them how their money can earn interest while in the bank.
- Allow them to spend. I always hate when I see parents who make their children save every penny that they have. Once these kids become adults and they have full control of their money, they are going to want to spend it because they’ve never had the opportunity before. This often leads to irresponsible spend days. This is why it’s good to allow them to spend a portion of their money while saving a portion of it and giving as well
- Lead by example. If you are irresponsible with your money, if you are bad at budgeting, if you are living the pay check to pay check cycle it’s going to be hard for your kids to do anything different because that is what that they see and that is what they know. This is a great opportunity to improve your financial life as well as theirs.
- Include them. When you or you and your partner sit down to discuss your budget or pay bills, have the kids sit down with you. It’s important for children to not go into adulthood blindsided by the reality of financial responsibility. They need to understand what will be expected of them as adults. No, I don’t mean burden them with the stress of your finances, but it is important to let them know these things.
