How to Teach Young Children to Save Money
Saving money is one of the most important life lessons you can teach children. It’s the foundation for building a secure financial future and it’s never too early to teach young children this important lesson. It’s something they will carry with them throughout life.
Start talking to your child about saving money as soon as he understands what it is. Even toddlers can add money to the piggy bank and when they get older and more curious about money, explain why saving is important and the difference between needs and wants.
Here are a few tips to help teach young children to save money:
Give your kids an allowance for doing certain chores around the house. It teaches them that money is earned, not given.
Use different piggy banks to separate the money into at least three groups. One is a savings account for the future, one is the money you need to buy that special toy and one is for free spending and sharing with others.
Play games that teach kids the value of a dollar. Monopoly, Cashflow 101, Payday and The Game of Life are some of the most popular board games used to teach kids about money.
Allow your kids to watch when paying bills and answer their questions as you go. It’s also a good idea to take them with you grocery shopping. Watching you will help teach them good financial habits.
When possible, give children the freedom to make some financial decisions themselves. This will allow them to make and learn from their own mistakes when they’re young. This way, they won’t make the same mistakes when they’re older.
Teaching kids the value of a dollar when they’re young will help them learn the skills they need to have a secure financial future.
We grew up with piggy banks as kids. We loved filling them up for certain goals.
Its good to learn the value of saving at an early age
It’s not an easy thing for children to grasp but very worthwhile. With mine, when they got their pocket money, they were allowed to spend half or save it as they wanted and the other half went into their savings accounts.
Great options!
All excellent tips. I love the idea of using games like Monopoly, and The Game of Life to teach kids about money.
Yes, we used Pay Day and Monopoly!
Some great savings strategies for children. I really like the idea to use different piggy banks to separate the money into at least three groups.
When young if my son wanted some toy or other item, he had to save for it. That way he appreciated it that much more.
Great way to learn the value of money!
It is so important to learn about money at an early age! Great read 🙂
Thank you!
These are all great tips and it’s very important to teach them at a young age about money and the value of it!
Thank you and so true!
Good to have knowledge of this at an early age. Lots of fun ways to learn. I agree that this concept is key, especially in the current monetary world we live in
There are some great tips here. My oldest has a “saving” piggy bank. Whenever I find coins with her birth year on it, they go in there. It’s pretty full! She also has a “special treat” bank. She’s learning that the toys that she wants aren’t cheap! 🙂
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Give children the freedom to make some financial decisions is great idea to give them opportunity to manage their finances and “feel” the responsibility for their actions!
I think that’s the most important part of learning to manage money.
Leading by example is very important. I also believe in teach them about taxes. When they earn money and buy things there are taxes. Knowledge is power!
Well said!
Our little one made some mistakes and fixed them later, learned some valuable lessons that he should count his money and keep them safe!
I enjoyed the article, some very interesting information.
Thank you!