How To Teach Your Child About Finance
- By : Jessica Jiayi W
When it comes to financing, children will have a lot of questions. But how can you teach them about this topic so they will grow up not spending every cent of their money immediately? Finance is a subject that is not taught at school, so parents have to cover the subject at home. But many parents just say to study hard in school and get good grades. That isn’t entirely true. Then how can you help your child develop a good understanding of money?
1. Selling old things
Maybe your home or yard is full of children’s stuff. Young children will love to buy books or toys in shops, and older children will quickly extend their pocket money to shopping centers. Then, you will find that there are many things that are gradually idle.
You can take your child to a local thrift shop and let them know that this is an excellent opportunity to reuse and recycle unused items.
2. Bring them to the bank
Looking at your transactions in the bank helps your child understand what cash actually means. Allow your child to participate in bank transactions as much as possible, or allow your preschooler to send a check to the teller.
When your child grows up, consider opening an account for him or her and guiding him or her to learn to save. Many banks and credit cooperatives have fee-free accounts specifically for children and can be found in various educational materials and online activities.
3. Show them your receipt after shopping
When a child sees that you buy something by simply swiping a credit card and pressing a button to get an item, they think the credit card is infinite and magical.
So you can let the kids help you pay your credit card bill to break this mystery. This will allow them to see the entire transaction process. The cost of going through these brushes will let him know how much you are paying.
Ask your child to help you pay for other bills, utilities, rent, and phone fees. This will give him or her a new understanding of currency flows. There will also be some other benefits. For example, once your child knows what the electricity bill is, he may turn off the lights more often when he leaves the room.
4. Shop at the Farmers’ Market
If you go to a supermarket, your child can’t see all the hard work farmers put into growing the crops. On the contrary, if you take them to the farmers’ market, they can see the connection between work and money. Allow your child to pick a bundle of carrots and give the money to the seller. That way, he or she can see the role of the market economy.
It can explain to the children that these crops are grown by the farmers themselves, so they can decide how much they want to sell, and the customer decides whether they are willing to pay the price. You can also explain that the money earned by the farmers allows them to use them to grow more crops.
5. Use coupons
When you get your mail, you should leave some of the coupons you find in there. Even if you don’t use them, you can use them to teach your child about saving money and discounts. Next time you go to a store, let your child be responsible for the coupon, and discuss how it helped you save money.
6. Make a donation to charity
Some people have more than others, and those with more knowledge can help those who lack knowledge. Try to buy food with your child and send it to your local food storage room. You can also discover the child’s interest – if he or she is an animal lover, encourage them to donate to the local animal shelter or volunteer to help feed the animals.
7. Encourage them to earn money
Making money not only has educational value for children but also has many benefits for them. Opening a lemonade is still a good choice – it encourages children to work in teams, lets brothers and sisters do it together, the older children can handle financial issues, and the younger children can dispense cups. The older children can help younger children, which will make both of them feel good.
8. Set a financial goal
Is your child eager to go to Disneyland? Does he or she want to go to a trampoline park? Encourage him or her to set a long-term finance goal so that he or she can develop a good habit of saving money. Moreover, the savings will bring joy to the child.
9. Play finance related games
When your child is using a computer, let him or her try some online games that help their money skills. Many credit union websites have such games and activities. This helps children to have their own ideas for income, savings and losses.