Teach Kids to Save, Invest and Manage Money
Games and Tips to Help Children Budget and be Money Conscious
Jun 18, 2009
It can be difficult to be balanced when teaching kids how to manage money. On the one hand no-one wants to have a kid who turns out to be mean spirited hoarder, on the other hand parents need to avoid allowing a child become a careless big spender who is always broke.
Kids' Allowances – When and How Much?
This is, of course, entirely up to parents but a good guideline is to give them $1 for every year of the child, per week, so a ten year old child would be earning $10 per week.
Give guidelines on how they spend their money but allow them to make their own decisions. Suggest for example, that a portion goes towards saving, a portion towards contributing to a charity and a portion towards spending at their discretion. Children need to understand what a budget is and how it works.
Communicate With Kids About Money Matters
Explain to kids where the family's income comes from and what financial obligations there are, for example rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, grocery bills etc. When shopping, talk about the things that are being bought, help them to compare the quality versus price and explain how to shop around for the best deal.
Encourage Kids to Make Money Themselves
There is no better way for kids to discover the value of a dollar by earning the money themselves. Extra chores around the home or finding a summer job, setting up their own small money making venture (like baking and selling cookies to family and friends) will help them understand how hard one has to work to bring cash in and how quickly it can disappear if spent on junk.
Analyze how advertising images try to persuade people to buy what they don’t need. Help them to avoid impulse buys and suggest a waiting period before making that 'must-have' purchase.
Explore how credit cards work and the wise way to use them. Discuss the importance of having a healthy credit rating.
Board Games to Help Kids Manage Money
Games such as Monopoly, Game of Life, Moneywise Kids and Payday are excellent tools in helping kids to understand money, mortgages, budgeting and investing. Not only will they be learning, but learning in the most natural way in the world – by having fun.
Online Games and Computer Games
Games such as Sims, RollerCoaster Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon are computer games that can be bought and considered a good investment in terms of getting kids to be more money savvy. There are also plenty of interactive free online games that can teach kids to negotiate, plan, strategize and make decisions that can benefit their future and living.
Teach Kids to Invest
Teach children to save for the future by setting goals. Encourage them to save and invest for the future by discussing the cost of college and houses and then explain how they could possibly reach a milestone purchase like that. Teach them about banking and compound interest, stocks, mutual funds and other ways they can invest for the future.
 |
 |
 |
