Financial literacy is quite an essential skill that a lot of people take for granted. If you want your child to live a prosperous life free from financial problems, giving them a meaningful financial education will help them achieve that. Here are some everyday activities you can do with your children to teach them even the basics of financial literacy and how to manage their money effectively.
1. Make Them Earn Their Allowance
There will come a time when you need to give your child an allowance that they can use when they go to school. But even before they get to that point, you can already instill in your kids the importance of money and how it is a finite resource that they need to manage and earn.
Many parents are in the habit of supplying their kids with a weekly allowance, which in itself can help teach budgeting skills. While that has always been the norm, there’s actually a better way that involves them learning how to earn their allowance. You can do this by teaching them how to do simple chores at home and drawing the mental connection between income and personal effort. You can even use an app like Kiddie Kredit to help you and your child track their chores and the corresponding amount.
2. Teach While You Shop
Shopping for groceries is part of the responsibilities of adult life. Why not bring your kid along the next time you shop? It’ll be a great teaching moment for them about budgeting and the value of money. When you arrive at the store, tell your child how much money you have to spend and what your priorities are. Show why you’re picking certain items over others and how important discounts and coupons are. You can even let them join in the activity of shopping by giving your child small amounts of money that they could spend themselves. A simple $2 “coupon” that they can use to buy anything they want could help them learn the importance of spending with a limited budget.
3. Have Them Contribute to Purchases
Buying gifts for your child is great, but wouldn’t it be better if they get to save money so they can buy those things that they like? One way to get them to appreciate the value of saving money is to make them contribute toward these nonessential items like toys and video games. Since they already have an allowance, teach them to save up some money and let them pay half the cost for a new Lego set or an Easy-Bake oven. Your kids will get a better sense of what things actually cost, which is important.
4. Make it a Game
Learning about money matters doesn’t have to be boring. It can also be fun and engaging by thinking of games where they learn the importance of thriftiness. There are a couple of board games out there that do just that and more. Payday is among the best for teaching kids valuable money management skills. With the next paycheck a month away, players have to make their money last. This can be a great simulation of how they should strategize spending their money on something that could earn them some profit.
Conclusion
Financial literacy is something that can and should be learned at a young age. With these simple yet practical activities, you can instill the value of money, spending, saving, and investing to your child with ease.
Kiddie Kredit is just the tool you need to ensure your child learns about money and spending even at an early age! Our app is designed to educate children on the credit system by completing chores. Start your child’s financial education by downloading the Kiddie Kredit from the Apple app store and Google play store today!