One tip of survival you need to teach your kids is how to save money. Not only can this help prevent kids from going into debt later in life, but it can also help them prepare themselves for unexpected events. Whether you work to set an example or open a savings account for your child, you can use these tips to help teach your kids to save money.
1. Set an Example
Kids learn from example. When you show children that you’re working hard to save part of your paycheck, they will be more apt to want to save part of their own money. One way to set an example is to have a change jar in your home. Let kids see you placing your change in the jar each day and then get them involved in getting the change converted to cash. Kids will be amazed at how that little bit of change can add up.
My personal favorite savings bank is the Moonjar Classic. It has three separate compartments to help children learn the 3 esses of money – Savings, Spending, and Sharing.
2. Have Them Choose Something They Want
Next time your child asks for an extravagant toy that she’ll only play with a couple of times before getting bored, tell her that she can have it, but she has to pay for it herself. Explain that she can save money she earns doing chores and odd jobs until she has enough money to pay for it. This will help encourage her to save her money.
3. Open a Savings Account
To help your child save his money without the temptation to spend it, open a savings account for him. Each week, he can deposit the money he earned that week. Show him his savings account balance each week so that he can see how his money is growing.
4. Help Them Find Ways to Earn More Money
Once he has his savings account set up, you can start helping him look for ways to earn money. If he doesn’t get a weekly allowance yet, look for chores, he can do to earn money each week. It might be doing dishes for $1 or weeding the garden for two-dollars. You can also help him find jobs to do for his neighbors. Depending on your child’s age, he may be able to get small jobs, such as delivering papers.
5. Get the Reward
Once she’s saved enough money, take her to the store to buy that special item. However, if you want to show her the value of savings truly, show her what she could get if she saved just a bit more money. If you’re lucky, she’ll learn that there is a value in being patient and working on getting what you want.
Saving money is a life skill that everyone should learn. Children that are handed everything in life are more apt to grow up and get in deep debt. If you want your child to be smart about his money when he gets older, you need to teach him how to save money.