Creating good money habits is essential for every person and child. Teaching your kids financial responsibility while they are young will help them create better money habits as an adult. Teaching kids about money can be difficult, but it’s not impossible! These tips and tricks will help you teach your kids financial responsibility no matter what age they are.
How to Teach Kids Financial Responsibility at any Age
How to Teach Your Child the Value of Money
If your children don’t have a weekly allowance or don’t interact with money, it can be not very easy for them to understand how money works and the value of money. It’s important to teach your kids that money is a limited resource and something they should try to save when possible. It’s not only important to show them how money can be used, but how valuable it is.
How to Explain Money to a Child
If you have little ones, explaining to them how money works is a vital part of teaching kids about money. I created a whole lesson plan about money values to help them visualise how a transaction might work and what each coin and dollar is worth. This is an excellent option for explaining what money is to your child without having to use real money.
Help Your Child Set Up a Budget
Setting up your first budget can be scary. We use this budget planner for our finances, but that can be a bit overwhelming for kids. Instead, we use this saving money kit to help them track their spending and create money goals for their finances. Once they have a way to understand how their money adds up and what they’re saving toward, it’s easy to help them start a budget.
Talk to Your Kids About Money
Talking to your kids about money can be so tricky, especially if you’re in a tight money situation. There are so many great resources out there, including TED talks and checklists that can help make talking to your kids about money easier.
Here are some of my favorite resources:
- How to Talk to Your Kids About Money
- TED Talks
- How to Talk to Kids About Money at Every Age (Without Losing Your Mind)
Share Your Family Budget When Teaching Kids About Money
The final step in how to teach your child financial responsibility is to share your family budget with them! This is important when teaching kids about money because they can see how real money affects their lives! Walk them through how to set up a budget and then show them how that budgeting system works in your own family budget. This will also help them understand how your family’s values are translated into a budget as well.
There are so many great tools and resources out there that can help you teach your child financial responsibility. Whether you are following Dave Ramsey’s tips for teaching kids about money, or you are just following your own path, there is no wrong answer! The important thing is to start teaching them about personal finance early.