Money Management for Kids!
If money management is taught to your children they are more likely to become financially responsible adults. They learn how to budget their money, live within their means, and avoid debt. Your kids learn their spending habits and practices from you. Are you financially responsible? You must first examine your financial practices and make the necessary adjustments so you can pass down smart financial habits to your children. 
You can begin to teach money management to your kids as early as two years old. Start with a piggy bank concept. Place money in her piggy bank when she cleans up her play area. The task must be age appropriate. This is also teaching your child that she has to work to receive money. It doesn’t come for free. Explain that by saving money in the piggy bank, there is money available to buy something she needs in the future.
Part of teaching money management, is teaching accountability. I do not believe in handing over an allowance to a child. I believe the child should earn it. At each age, find things you child can hold your child accountable and responsible for. At six years old, your child can tidy up her room. It may not be perfect or the way you want it, but it’s the effort that should be rewarded.
As your child grows older and enters the teenage years, add more items to the list of responsibilities that will be included as part of their financial compensation. There are many benefits. You child learns money management, responsibility, and the infrastructure you create for her will be one that will carry over into her adult and professional life. An allowance should be given weekly. You the parent are responsible for food, clothing, shelter, or school supplies. Decide what expenses your child is responsible for. If you want you child to be more financially responsible then give more allowance money and increase their expenses. Maybe they can start paying for lunches at school or birthday presents for their friends. Make them responsible for their entertainment, going to the movies, or eating out. This helps them to budget their money. They have to know the price of their purchase and live within their budget.
Part of teaching money management to kids is to open a savings account when you child begins to earn money. Explain that a portion of one’s earnings must be put in a savings account. The money that is not put in savings must be budgeted. So if you child has $10 after making the savings deposit, she must learn to live within her means. If she wants to buy a CD for $17, she must wait until she has enough saved up for that purchase. These valuable lessons that are taught at an early age can relieve your child of a lot of financial stress in the future.
A big lesson in money management is teaching your children how to bargain shop. Teach them how to utilize the sales racks and discounted items. Have you ever bought an item and two days later you return to the same store to find it on sale? Most stores will offer you the discount if you bring the sales receipt within a certain time of the purchase. Check with the store. Sometimes shopping at outlet stores can find greater discounts on the same brand items. And who said that you have to sport an item with some famous designer name to be cool? Teach your children not to buy into that hype. It’s a big marketing ploy to make wealthy designers even wealthier. If you can find the same items at a discounted price then that’s a bargain! However, it’s unnecessary to go into debt just to be able to own a designer product. This is bad money management for kids. There are some kids who need expensive brands to boost their self-esteem. Discuss what’s important to your children. What really defines them?
From the time you children are toddlers, they are already asking for items they see advertised on television. Children need to understand the dynamics of advertising. They need to understand that businesses pay millions of dollars to advertise their products just to entice the consumer. Top psychologist and marketing executives spend endless hours trying to figure out how to get us to spend our money. It’s all about consume, consume, consume! Teach you children to avoid getting caught up in the consumer’s game. Teach good spending habits. These simple lessons in money management for kids can help your children to learn to become adults who are capable of making solid financial decisions. If you begin at an early age to teach these valuable principles, you will have more financially understanding and responsible children. For Questions or Comments, Click
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