Parenting
Teaching kids to be savvy savers Most of us have made mistakes with money at some point. Help your children to avoid the same financial pitfalls by giving them the knowledge and skills to build on in the future. Teach them the value of money Rather than buying your children sweets each week, give them pocket money, some of which they can use to buy sweets and some of which they can save for a bigger treat. It’s good for children to earn at least part of their pocket money by doing chores. They’ll learn that money doesn’t come for nothing and be less likely to waste it. To make life easier, you could use an app and debit card like RoosterMoney or Go Henry, which were created to help children get to grips with their finances and earn money through chores. Help them to budget Encourage children to save up for something they really want rather than just waiting for Christmas or their birthday. You could start by explaining how much they’d need to save each week to achieve their goal. Younger children tend to need quicker results, so start with a small goal that can be achieved in a few weeks rather than months. Give them responsibility Part of appreciating the value of money is learning through mistakes. It’s tempting to step in and stop your child from spending their pocket money on things that you know they will quickly discard. Offer
advice but let them make their own decisions on low-value items. They may well then think twice next time they want to buy a blind bag or an expensive T-shirt. When older children are ready, you could give them more responsibility for budgeting for the things they need by giving them an allowance for clothes, school dinners, travel expenses, toiletries, days out and so on, and helping them to work out a monthly budget. Again, they can earn more through chores if they want to save up for high-value items. Discuss money Don’t be afraid to talk about money with your children. You could share how much you’re setting aside each month for next year’s holiday for example, and talk about your own experiences with money. You can also help your child to see that, while it’s good to shop around for the best price, cheap doesn’t always mean best value. However, try not to make your child worried about family finances. It’s fine to talk about not being able to afford something or how you’re saving up for a big purchase, but you don’t want your child to lose sleep worrying that you won’t be able to pay the bills. Learn from the experts Make the most of children’s love for online games. MyBnk is a UK charity on a mission to help children build good money habits. It has created a series of fun online courses for ages 5 to 21. You can access them for free at learning.mybnk.org/our-courses.
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