“We never had it as rough as the kids have it today,” says Orman. “Look at the price of a gallon of gas or a piece of real estate or a college education.”
If our kids ever needed their parents’ money advice, it’s now! For more info on kids and money, click Money Sense for Kids. And, read on for money tips from Women & Co…
10 Tips for Teaching Kids About Money – Women and Co.
Lisa Caputo, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Women & Co., and Linda Descano, CFA®, President and COO of Women & Co., offer the following money tips to help women teach their children about financial responsibility, sharing, and the connection between money and values…
1. Be a positive money role model. Children absorb values by observing adult behavior. Set a “money example”, and model a healthy attitude toward work, earning money, spending money, and donating money. Keep the role of money in perspective in the family and don’t use it as a means of comparing yourself to others.
2. Understand your kids’ environment. Try to unearth the experiences your kids are having with money among their peers. Values, attitudes and beliefs are continuously evolving so it’s important to help your child interpret what he or she may be hearing, seeing, and feeling.
3. Establish good behavior – give an allowance. As soon as your kids are ready, set up an age-appropriate allowance for children and a schedule for dispensing it between savings, spending, and giving. For teens and college students, consider giving them an allowance to last several months and let them allocate it over time.
4. Talk about money with your kids. Talk openly about money in the family; don’t treat money as a taboo topic. A candid, honest and ongoing dialogue about money in the household can help kids develop healthy attitudes and learn valuable lessons.
5. Make talking about money fun! Talking about money doesn’t have to feel formal or dull. Window shopping and trips to the library can teach important lessons about needs vs. wants and borrowing. Many classic board games like Monopoly, Life and Payday are springboards for basic lessons in finance.
6. Practice money tips as a family. Create a “family fund.” Saving toward a common goal, such as a vacation or donation to a charity, offers children the opportunity to get involved with conducting research, creating the budget, and more. Grandparents and relatives can be invited to join the fund too – and it all contributes to teaching kids money skills. For more tips about teaching kids about money through role modeling, read Being a Financial Role Model.
7. Give back to the community. Help your kids determine how they would like to contribute their time by showing them their options. Perhaps someone in your family is musically talented and can arrange a performance for people at a local hospital. Or, use the skills of the entire family by serving at a soup kitchen or helping to build a home for a family in need.
8. Be fair. While you may not be able to be completely consistent between kids because of differences in ages, do make every effort to avoid comparing siblings or creating competition about money, savings, or spending in the household.
9. Accept money mistakes and celebrate success. Protecting children completely can lead to financial problems when they are adults, so allow them to make mistakes. But, do set limits and make rules – and remember to celebrate their successes!
10. Be patient. The results of your efforts to teach your kids about money may not be apparent until much later on in your children’s lives. Trust that you’re doing the best you can and take the setbacks in stride.
Do you remember the lessons your parents taught you about money when you were a kid? I welcome your thoughts below!
For more info about teaching children about money, visit Women & Co..
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Hi Laurie,
Love all the tips on teaching kids money! I want to underscore the importance of putting money into the hands of kids on a regular basis (an allowance for younger kids is the most popular…part-time job for older teens). Kids need hands-on, personal experience with money in order to truly understand how money works.
Being in charge of their money also teaches them needs vs wants, prioritizing their spending, when the money is gone – it’s gone, and setting personal financial goals to get those items that are a bit more pricey.
When kids are responsible for their discretionary spending, it’s amazing how frugal they can be. And for those kids who just spend it all…stick to the allowance “plan” and eventually they will learn to make different choices.
The best time to teach the life skills of money management is when our kids are still kids. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Karyn Hodgens
Kids’ Personal Finance Educator
Karyn,
It’s great to hear from you — thanks for being here, and sharing your money tip! Yes, I can see how giving kids hands-on experience taking care of money can make a world of difference. I started babysitting when I was 11, and learned even earlier than that how to take care of my money…which is why I’m in a secure financial position today. (well, as secure as a freelancer can be, anyway
).
Would you be interested in contributing a “money tips for kids at Christmas” article, to Quips & Tips? I can email you a few questions if you’d like….
Thanks,
Laurie
Laurie PK´s last blog post..Tips for Introverts – 6 Ways to Reduce Christmas Stress and Anxiety
Hi Laurie,
I love it when kids are enthusiastic about earning a little extra cash and parents support them in their endeavors. You’re right, it does help build a nice financial foundation.
I’d love to submit some tips for kids!
Karyn
Great, Karyn — I’ve emailed you
Laurie PK´s last blog post..Tips for Introverts – 6 Ways to Reduce Christmas Stress and Anxiety
@laurie, I agree with you, and will proably vote that way as well