Money Saving Tips to Teach Children
This is a guest post written by Lauren Dzuris. Lauren runs FindMyCarSeat, a website on Graco Car Seats and other great brands that can help new parents find a great car seat, while giving them tips, and advice on everything from pregnancy to parenting.
Being savvy with your money comes from strong work ethics and from a young age. If your teach your child poor spending habits from the get go, they will more than likely use those habits throughout their life.
In order for your child to be a smart shopper and great saver, there are several tips you can take into consideration. Need some ideas? Continue reading below to find out!
Allowance: First of all, you need to teach your children that you earn money through working hard. Once they understand this concept, not only will they want to “work hard”, but they will also have more respect for everything you do.
Give your child chores to do, but also give them harder ones, ones they actually get paid for. For example, cutting the grass, moping the floors or even helping you with yard work are all great jobs for them to do.
Just make sure your child knows the difference between “chores” and “jobs for money”. Your child should not get paid for keeping their own room clean or for taking out the trash one time.
Set aside: Now, once your child gets their weekly allowance, or once they get cash gifts for their birthday or holidays, make sure you teach them to set aside at least 10% each time they receive money.
Explain to them that they may run into a time where they really want something but don’t have the money. Saving for a rainy day is important from day one.
Watch it grow: Now that your child is saving at least 10% each time they get money, you can put it into a savings account or something with great interest. Every few months, let your child see how much they started with and how much they have today. This will encourage them to save money.
Double money: Some parents will actually match their child’s money that they save. This is a great way of encouraging them to put money away. For example, if your child got $100 from grandma and grandpa for Christmas, tell them they must put 10%, being $10 away in the bank. If you want, you can also say since you’re saving $10, I will give you $10 more to put away. They will then see how saving money has benefits.
Also explain that they can get more for their money now just because they saved. So instead of one toy, they can maybe get two now just for being patient.
Avoid temptation: Teach your child to avoid temptation. They may see a toy their friend just got, and they may want it really bad. When this happens remind them of previous times they wanted something and then barely played with it.
Always make them wait a week or two so that way if they still want it they can get it, but if they’ve moved onto something else or forgot about it, they can realize they didn’t want it all that bad.
There are several ways to teach your child good spending habits, but it’s important you start these right away. You can’t give into your child’s wants all the time. Teach them they must help around the house, but let them also understand what going above and beyond and getting paid for it means.