Money Management for Children – Made Easy
Thursday, October 29th, 2009The best period to teach children about money management is between 7 and 10. Children have the ability to easily grasp financial basics when taught tat an early age. This is because the sooner they learn the ropes of managing their money, the earlier they will learn to use it.
The first step is to allocate a meager amount which needs to be given to the child after one week. Assign suitable odd jobs around the house which they can complete in a short period. Once the assigned job has been completed pay them their allowance in full. This way, the child realizes the value of his/her work and will want to earn more.
The parent now needs to show the child how this money has to be spent wisely. The child should be taught to allocate for three important categories – saving, charity and spending. The parent needs to teach them to split it as 40-10-50 or 50-10-40, whichever looks appropriate to them. By doing so, children give away a small portion for others and give away a small portion for others and importantly, learn to spend their hard earned first salary on their favorite things, and finally, save a portion for themselves for the great job that they’ve done so far.
Visualizing a savings jar getting filled up will show how they reap benefits from their hard work; similar to, how they feel when they see sprouts from the seeds they’ve sown with their tiny hands. Give the child a transparent box or jar where they can put in their savings amount every week.
Charity money can be given away to church or any other children home, where they can see how blessed they are. Such things will instill humbleness and simple living in them.
Now that the financial classes are finally over, take them out buy their favorite toy or dress or video game. These small lessons on savings will remind them to be responsible for their actions and will prevent them from falling into debt traps in the future.
As a parent, opt for budget planning software offered by personal budget planning sites which you could demonstrate to your kid as he grows bigger. This way, you become an ideal parent for your child, giving him financial security at all times.