Income and Investments Tips on How to Teach Your Children About Money Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by Jim Wang Published Jun 1, 2017 3 min read As the father of two young kids, thoughts on how to teach our children some good money lessons is always on my mind. It’s well understood that our relationship with money is formed at an early age. How you decide to impart life lessons will depend largely on how old they are – the lessons that you will use with a child in kindergarten will look a little foolish to a teenager. It’s also important to try to actively teach them money lessons in addition to what they will learn just by watching you. The actions you take, the comments you make, and the emotions you show around money will all help shape their relationship with money. Elementary Aged At this age, it’s important to teach them about the basic concepts behind money. To start, teach them about saving. They won’t get a lot of money at this age, since they aren’t working, but they will probably be getting some monetary birthday gifts from relatives. Start by teaching them how to save that money in a piggy bank. As they put money in the jar, talk it through with them about what they’re doing and celebrate saving. When you go to the store, it’s important to teach them that the items in the store cost money. To pay for them, you need to go to your savings, take out money, and pay for those items. As they get older, this concept will become clearer to them. Pre-Teen Around this age, kids understand what money is and what it can be used for. A strong lesson to teach around this time is the importance of giving. Some parents use the idea of tithing, which refers to giving 10% to your church, and apply it to charitable giving. You can help those who are less fortunate and it’s a powerful lesson. If you give an allowance, consider tying it to chores to teach them about the importance of working and that money is earned and not simply given. Teenagers Around this age they might have an allowance or do odd jobs around the neighborhood for pay, you can open a bank account for them (it’ll have to be a joint account). Go through the process of physically going to the bank, opening an account, and giving them the bank card. You can get better interest rates from online bank accounts but the process of going to a branch is a teachable moment, something that won’t stick nearly as well if you open an account online. Periodically, you can go online to see the balance or hit an ATM to check the balance. You can also talk through the intricacies of credit cards once they have a debit card. Having them understand the downfalls of credit card debt is a huge lesson and one that they best learn before they go out into the real world! College College is a trickiest time to teach money lessons because your children think they are adults (and technically, they are!), especially if they are living out of the house. It’s important you continue to guide them when it makes sense. Help them avoid credit card debt at all costs, be more of a money and life counselor and less of a professor, and just be there to help them navigate the intricacies of life. They won’t say they need your guidance, but they do and will thank you for it later. Previous Post Tips for Tips: Employees Who Make Tips Next Post 7 Ways to Save When Your Family Goes to the… Written by Jim Wang More from Jim Wang Leave a ReplyCancel reply Browse Related Articles Income and Investments Fun Ways to Teach Your Kids About Saving Money: Our Top… Income and Investments Happy Father’s Day! The Best Savings Tips from Our Au… Life How to Build Generational Wealth Small Business The Benefits of Employing Your Children and the Tax Bre… Tax Planning Should You Give Your Kids an Allowance for Chores? Family Saving for Your Kids: Better than a Piggy Bank Income and Investments Recent Grad? Here are Four Reasons to Start Saving Now … Education Money Lessons for College Freshmen Education Teachers Can Still Save with the Educator Expense Deduc… Income and Investments 4 Ways You Can Spend Money to Save Money