How To Teach Kids The Value Of Money

Chores and an allowance. Don't buy them stuff all the time.

 

Talks don;'t really help here. My parents gave me an oppurtunity to make money on my own, so I could feel what does it take. Maybe your kids can help your friends with garden or house work and make a buck to buy themselves an ice cream or a toy.

 

We opened savings accounts in the kids names as soon as they were old enough to understand and had them deposit part of their gift money. My #3 kid, 40 years old, reminded me of this yesterday and said it was a good thing for them.

 

I feel you should give your kids some money every day and let them manage it all by themselves. Just through this they can learn how to use their money appropriate.

 

I think lots of kids don't really understand the value of money these days, with good reason. As American's we've enjoyed so much wealth that even the poorest Americans are doing orders of magnitude better than the poor of other countries so it's hard to try to teach kids the value of money when in their minds it seems to grow on trees.

Make sure to ask them what they think what money is and where it comes from. Also ask them if they understand the importance of saving money and hard work to earn money. The sooner they have the correct concept of money, the better.

 

Well done, Scarlett. Pity that more parents don't teach those life lessons before you have to.

 

I too am a school teacher, and while we've done money management lessons with my middle school students, I've never had one go quite that well!

I am also a foster parent with three boys ages 9-13, and I give them a small allowance for doing their jobs. It has taught them something about money - at least that they need to keep it in a safe place and not lose it! It has also taught them that they will need to save their money to get the really nice things.

 

Not a big fan of paying children for chores around the house. We do chores around our home because it is our home -- not because we are paid to do so. Plus, we pick up after ourselves, wash our dishes, clean up our messes, fold our clothers, etc. simply because that is the right thing to do -- not because we get paid for it.

 

Teach kids...but modeling good Christian stewardship is the best lesson. Kinda hard to tell kids to be good stewards as you're handing the waitress at Outback your Discover card after the Capital One got declined because you're over your limit.

 

People learn to manage money by having money to manage.

When our daughter was young we figured out how much we spent on her for one year and then from that point we divided the yearly cost by 52 and gave that to her each week. She is now a senior in college and has never had a financial problem.

She learned to shop for value and not always what was cheapest.

 

When I was young, we barely had enough money to eat every month. My mom went to school full time and worked full time in an attempt to put food on the table. We valued money because we didn't have money. Today, all three of her kids have been very careful in how they use money because we knew poverty.

Americans often don't value money today because we are too prosperous.

 

I think the continuing depression will be a fast teacher. The Wall Street demonstrations are evidence the young adults are catching on.

 

I don't have kids yet, but when I was young, I knew back then that money is really important. My parents have always worked hard just to be able to raise us well. I have never asked them money for any material thing. I have only asked them for my allowance, and I would always try to spend my money wisely.

 

I have a similar opinion to Ruiz. My parents started with nothing and I watched them build their wealth from the ground up. I always understood and valued money because we were quite poor to start and even when we became comfortable my parents were still tight with cash.

Just by watching the parent's behavior with money, a child learns a lot, and I believe ends up having the same relationship with money that the parent has.

 

I don't have children yet but what my parents did when I was young was give me a piggy bank to save my pennies into. Also, they gave me my own bank account when I turned 16. They also told me to conserve water, energy and food as well and that really helped me to live a modest and minimal life without loans and such. I'll probably be teaching my children the same thing.

 

I don't know how old your kids are but if they are under 13 years old, an exchange of chores for money usually works as long as you're not buy them everything else. If they're older I would suggest having them read Robert T. Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens" and have them work for a big item like a car or clothes. You could try to create a family budget with their allowance from chores included in. Sometimes kids don't understand that rent, utilities, and food cost money even thought they're asking for it. Another solution is to have them try working, there are tons of online sites that let kids 13 and up make their own money. They'll spend their own money differently when they've had to make it.