Share this...

0 Pinterest 0 Linkedin StumbleUpon 0

Talking with kids about money can be a little awkward at times, especially if they don’t fully understand the concept. Decide on an age appropriate time and have that talk with them. Learning to handle money is just as important to learning the facts about life or drugs. You want your kids to be prepared for the future.

Here is how you can teach kids to save money.

Set A Good Example No Matter The Age

This is important if you want to teach kids to save money because managing money successfully is all about making good decisions. Maybe your child won’t understand your bank statement but you can use situations you come across in everyday life to talk to kids about money on their level. It is never too early to teach kids to save money.

When it comes to older kids remember they are very aware of your attitude toward money. They will notice if you talk about saving money daily but in the end all you do is make impulse purchases. Every time you put money in savings, talk about it why and how much you decided to put. If you put aside some of your tax refund for saving, show them the tax calculator you used to determine how much. Think of it this way, you don’t want your kids to pick up bad habits like smoking or excessive drinking so you set the example by not doing those things. It’s the same with money management. Set a good example for your kids. If you think that you can’t save money and you live from paycheck to paycheck, you can check out great post on Mommy Edition. Jayme from that blog found 18 (yes, 18!!) ways you can save money on baby necessities like diapers or formula. Check out the post and get inspired.

As you can see, there are many ways to show your kids how to save money, even on some home necessities.













Give Your Child a Piggy Bank

This can be a great teaching tool for your young ones. Preschoolers like to hear the sound of coins dropping in and as they get older, school aged kids understand that as the piggy bank gets heavier, they’re saving money.

Saving goals shouldn’t be complicated. When the piggy bank is full, help your child count the money and let them spend some of it. This will help them learn goal setting and that sometimes in order to get what they really want, they have to save for it. This is the fun way to teach kids to save money. Encourage them to spend money on something fun but useful, as some nice books you can find in my post about best books for toddlers.

Give Your Older Child Increased Responsibility

Usually around the age of nine your kids can start paying for their own non-essential items like games or other toys. This will increase their incentive to save and make them think about how much they really want that action figure.

Introduce a Bank Account

Some banks like credit unions have accounts made especially for your child with special incentives like small prizes. They can learn to set aside their allowance and put it in their bank account for later. This a good way to teach kids to save money.

Teach Teens About Credit Cards

To most kids, a credit card is an easy and convenient way to pay for things but might not realize the extra costs associated with them. Explain how debit and credit cards are different and how credit cards can be used responsibly. Your teen should understand that using a credit card is like taking out a loan that has to be paid back.

Teach Your Kids About Online Shopping

Now that technology is giving us so much more to do, teaching your kids about online shoppingis becoming all too important. They should learn that entering personal information online is a risk because people can take that information and use money that isn’t theirs.

Make rules regarding online purchases. Explain to them who they have to ask and why a parent or guardian has to be there when there is a purchase to be made.

Learning to save money takes practices as we all know. We will make mistakes but those mistakes can turn into lessons that our children can learn from to become savvier adults.

Remember – it’s never too early to teach kids to save money!

*And just for full disclosure, there are affiliate links in this posts “How to teach kids to save money” That means that I’m sharing something that I think is helpful, and if you make a purchase through the link, I earn a little bit back. No extra cost to you, and just a little help for me to pay for the blog expenses.