Teach Your Children the Value of a Dollar

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photo credit: iChaz

We all want our children to be financially responsible and independent when they grow up, but many of us don’t know how to prepare them for such a task. School does little to teach money management, and children’s programming is also woefully deficient in this area, so it really is up to you. Not to worry though, follow these steps to help your kids learn the value of a dollar:

• Be a good example: You will be your child’s only ongoing example of money management, so start by being financially responsible. Save your receipts and balance your checkbook, and invite you child to “help” you. Don’t hesitate to explain what you’re doing, either.
• Start early: A child’s formative years really are the best time to teach, so help promote good saving and spending habits when they’re young. For example, encourage them to save up for special purchases, and help them hunt down the best deals once they’ve saved the dough.
• Be honest: If you’re child asks you questions about money, don’t respond with the typical, unhelpful, frustrated-parent “money doesn’t grow on trees” response. Instead, use these moments to teach where money really does come from, and help you children understand basic finances.
• Make allowances: Experts debate whether allowances for daily chores help or hurt personal finance lessons. A good compromise is to have set amounts for chores outside daily duties — like extra dish washing or car washing — which allow your child to make his own fortune.
• Make it interesting: Do anything you can do to interest your child in saving. Decorate a piggy bank, create a monthly savings-counting ritual, or even offer to match each dollar spent with $0.50-$1 of your own.

For more tips, see how to teach your children the value of money.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 at 5:07 am and is filed under Kids and Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.