Teaching Your Kids Good Money Skills: It’s Easier Than You Think
How many times have you told your kids, “Money doesn’t grow on trees”? Eventually, your children are going to have to learn that getting the things they want requires some effort. The sooner you instill this concept in your child’s mind, the better. Lessons about finances are easy and can be incorporated into everyday life early on. These lessons can also be fun and if you make them a game, your child might not even be aware that you’re teaching anything at all.
Parents are all too familiar with the typical trip to a store accompanied by small children dazzled at all the offerings at their fingertips (need we really explain further?). Shopping is the best place to start teaching children about money and financial responsibility.
The first concept to get across is “wants” versus “needs”. Most kids will be attracted by brightly colored packaging or influenced by television programs they’ve seen marketing certain items or cartoon characters. Bright packaging and something familiar is followed by “Mommy, I want!”...