How To Teach Children About Money Management and Financial Literacy
Three practical lessons from personal experience as a parent of two children.
I’ve made some bad financial decisions and wish a knew more about finances long ago. I also experienced financial hardship, losing all income for several months, which gave me a new perspective — quickly.
A hard lesson to learn, but one I am applying to myself — and my kids. With the cost of living rising exponentially where we live, there is little (if any) room for kids to learn about money management the “hard way”.
Finances are an open topic of conversation in our home. My kids sit with me as bills are paid and we check the graphs highlighting daily hydro usage.
Children can understand transactions at a store, but in the world on online payments and debit and credit cards where accessing funds seems so easy and far less tangible, understanding where the money comes from just might be a far more challenging conversation than “where do babies comes from?”
What effort goes into a purchase?
How is money made?
What is a living wage?
How do I earn enough to cover the bills when costs are continually rising?
The questions that need legitimate answers are endless. Each question signals a learning opportunity to help children develop their financial literacy.
In this article, I ask parents three questions and provide practical advice from my lived experiences. Teaching children about money management and financial literacy is a complex but achievable — let me show you how.
When my kids started a paper route, we immediately transitioned the cost of goods to time spent delivering papers — to earn the money.
“That LEGO set is a two months of delivering papers, is it worth it?”
It’s amazing how quickly my youngest stopped asking to buy something when shopping for a birthday present for his friend!
