How to Teach our Kids about Money Matters

Whether we are distance-learning or homeschooling, as parents, we influence and guide our kids' learning.  While academics is our priority for our learners, understanding finances is equally important.

Understanding the value of money can help our kids develop the correct attitude and discipline in handling money. Knowing how to manage finances is essential in everyday and significant financial decisions they will need to make in the future.

Through leading by example, guiding, and sharing our life lessons in financial management, we can instill the values of stewardship, prudence, patience, and responsibility.

Here are eight ways we can teach our kids about money.

1. Model the Behavior

First, let us ask ourselves what values, behaviors, and beliefs we want our kids to live by.  Here are some guiding principles we can lift from the best book written, the Bible.

• We are stewards of all of God’s creation including money.

 

As written in Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

 

• We should work hard and exercise responsibility and accountability in caring God’s resources.

As written in Collosians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.“.  “

 

• We should fix our focus on God and not on money.

 

As written in Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

 

Second, we must reflect if our actions show what we aspire for them to learn.

If our actions align with our goals, we can start teaching the basic financial concepts and reinforce them with examples.

On the other hand, if our actions are the opposite of the values we are instilling, we need to be more conscious and correct our actions.

Remember, we can teach the concepts and remind them frequently, but if our actions negate our advice, our children will follow what they see and not what they hear from us.

 

2. Teach through play.

 

It would've been nice to have our children join us in the supermarket or mall to let them watch first hand the transactions we do outside.  If they can't go out, we can bring the experience to them through pretend play and board games.

 

We can encourage our kids to have a play store at home.   We can show them how to select the goods to buy and pay for what we chose.  Place price tags on the items and use play money to demonstrate that a transaction involves exchanging goods and money.

 

You can also set up a pretend restaurant, complete with a menu. You can pretend to order, eat, get the bill, and pay for the meal.

 

Another fun way to teach our kids is to play board games like Monopoly.  It teaches about property ownership, buy-and-sell transactions, and loans, all while kids play.

 

3. Teach the kids the SAVE-SPEND-SHARE concept.

We can give our kids three jars to put their money in.  The money they put in can be from their allowances, cash gifts, or their earnings.  Here is a guiding principle we can follow:

• Spend – This jar contains the money that they can spend on whatever they want. Our kids can use it to buy something for themselves like a toy or a book, or they can choose to use the money to buy a gift for someone else.

 

• Save – This jar contains the money that can be saved in a bank or invested in a financial instrument.

We should emphasize the value and need of saving.  As written in Proverbs 30:24-25, “Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;”

 

• Share – This jar contains the money we give to the Church or donate to those in need.

We should teach our kids to give our tithes and share to those in need.  Here are two bible verses that speak of giving tithes and sharing:

• Proverbs 3:9 “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.”
• 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each of you should give what you have decided inyour heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. “

 

While coin banks are also a good option for storing saved money, giving the kids see-through jars can help them better visualize their money add up over time.

4. Give the kids "work" at home.

 

Kids can truly understand the value of money when they experience working for it.  You can assign extra chores and give them cash as payment.  It doesn't need to be a large sum of money.  It can be coins that they can save.

 

5. Let the kids decide on their purchases using their money.

Now that our kids have earned some money, we can give our kids freedom to spend their money.  By giving them independence, they can experience firsthand how to make financial decisions and perhaps learn about natural consequences.  As long as our kids purchase an item that is safe, age-appropriate, and within budget, support their choices. 

6. Involve them in activities that are related to finances.

 

We can get our kids to help us with meal-planning, budgeting, and ordering online.  We can also allow them to make simple financial decisions like which specific product/brand to buy.

 

7. Teach them that they cannot have everything they ask for.

As early as we can, we need to make our kids understand that they cannot have everything they want when they want it.  Both parents need to be firm to say "No" to spendings that are not necessary.  It is also good to make them understand the difference between need and want, feel contented with what they have, and teach them the value of patiently waiting.

8. Teach them about savings and investment.

If you have older kids, you can give them more options and details about the different forms of investments, risks, and returns.   You can also let them choose where they want to save or invest their money.

Teaching our kids about money is a journey.  It requires us, parents, to learn more and practice what we teach.   At Mamacademy PH, we hope that the practical tips we shared can help us be better stewards of our finances and models to our family because it is what the Lord has called us to do.

References:

The 5 Most Important Money Lessons To Teach Your Kids (forbes.com)

How to teach young kids about money, so it sticks with them (nbcnews.com)

https://www.bible.com/