Introducing younger children to Money and Savings

Happy new year all!

Hope you are all feeling relaxed and rested and ready for the new year, as the saying goes new year new start encourage your children to talk about plans they have for the future.

Some of you may be familiar with the above saying, I know I heard this many times growing up, but it is still true today. No one is born knowing how to manage and save money one thing that is certain is that the earlier you start the better. It could be something as simple as a money box, most of us grew up with a piggy bank or remember the old Post office accounts. As a child you did not realise that this was how some of us were introduced to money management without being aware of it.  I remember one of my children asking me to buy something for them in the shop and me responding that I do not have the money to pay for it. My child’s answer was to get it out the ‘hole in the wall’ which was the cashpoint machine as child they had no idea that Mummy or Daddy had to work to be able to withdraw money from the ‘hole in the wall’

Now I have started teaching my grandbaby who is now two how to save. She has a money box at my house and is aware that when she is given any money, she can place it in her money box. I learnt that having taught her the benefits of a money box, never to leave money around as she will quickly place it in ‘her’ money box!

You can teach your children from an early, age the benefits of saving, playing with pretend money is the simplest way to introduce money to your children. Get your kids to start counting money and playing shops this help to develop the idea of value. When you are going shopping it is good to let the young ones, hand over the money and pay for some goods. This will help to boost their confidence in counting. A good friend of mine created a shop in her conservatory to teach her children the value of money this included display cabinets with items to purchase.

My Tips for introducing children to Money

Games

Encourage your children to collecting coins and play games with them, practising them to remember the names of coins and teaching them the value of coins.

Money does not grow on Trees

Teach your children the value of money, explain to them that for example Mummy or Daddy must go to work to earn this money

Pocket money

A great way to teach children the idea of earning money give your children the opportunity to earn money through chores such as 50p for tidying their room or washing up. Try to be consistent if a child runs out of money during the week do not give them anymore. Children need to learn that once it’s gone…it’s gone.

Save, save, save

Get your children saving from a young age, this way when they are older and need to save for a something e.g., car they will already of mastered the skill of saving and it will come to them naturally. With my son if there was the latest X box game being released, he would have to contribute to it from his savings.

Shopping

Take them shopping, this allows them to start learning the value of money again play number games to allow them to know which is the most expensive item and get them to look at prices and price labels of items in the shops. If they have pocket money allow them to buy a small item and pay for it themselves out of their own money. If they are unable to afford it, they will soon learn what is like not having enough to buy an item and having to wait until next week when they will have enough money saved.

There is a saying that shared with me many years ago and it is as  so relevant for the time so I am sharing with you all   

REMEMBER!

‘Before you speak, listen. Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try. Before you retire, save. Before you die, give.’

-William A. Ward