8 Easy Ways to Teach Your Kids About Money

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I teach my kids that money needs to be made. I told them that, you cannot spend money you don’t have and to get money you need to earn it. I teach my kids on this by explaining what you do for work or how your family gets money. http://msecuredatalabs.com

Ronie Geisler of TX 4:29PM July 12, 2012

I think part of getting kids interested in money saved and good habits is getting them involded in planning or something and giving them a chance to have a say -within reason. I tried this out with 12 year old son last year when I agreed he could have a cell phone, but he couldn't understand why he couldn't a Droid or an IPhone. Explaining to him the cost of a contract and a new phone in detail wasn't going to make my point the way I wanted so I thought of something else that would give him control. I told him that if he saved his allowance then I would buy him a prepaid cell phone and he could load his own minutes within reason and it worked. Since his allowance is kind of limited, we went online and found the best price phones for him with Tracfone and ordered a little LG flip - he bought the aircard for $10 at Target. Now, he keeps track of his own minutes and rations his allowance to buy more aircards with higher values. It might not be the best thing to start him on, but I think he's learning managment and value he wouldn't have if I just paid for it for him.

Val of FL 4:57PM April 20, 2011

For young children to develop good habits with money and long-term personal responsibility, the teaching needs to be repetitive. Repetition and experience is the basis of learning. When you relate it to what's happening in their lives, you bring in the emotion which really makes things sink in! Whether it's creating a wish list to help them learn about needs and wants and delayed gratification or letting them help you count out the money at the grocery store, making things tangible and relating the concepts to everyday life in a fun way is critical. Asking children questions about money opens opportunities to guide their understanding and the answers can be very insightful!

Nancy Phillips 12:18AM April 08, 2011

Most parents have good intentions in this department but have trouble following through consistently with financial education for their kids. An online, semi-automated system can really help in this department. There are several online apps out there now that focus on teaching kids good personal finance habits through hands-on practice. Google around and try one.

Cheers,

Bill

Bill at FamZoo of CA 5:38PM April 07, 2011

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Alpha Consumer

Kimberly Palmer, senior editor for U.S. News & World Report, writes about making smarter financial decisions. She’s the author of Generation Earn: The Young Professional's Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back.

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