Some schools at KS3 and KS4 levels now teach children financial management, recognising it’s important for them to start getting in the know as early as possible.
There are a couple things you can teach them at home to get your children on the right path financially.
You can’t always have what you want right away
As we all eventually learn, sometimes in life you have to wait before you can buy something. Although this is a difficult lesson for children (we still can’t accept it now!), it will be hugely beneficial to teach them they have to save for things they really want.
Give your child two money pots – one labelled ‘spending’ and one labelled ‘saving’. When they receive money, teach them to divide it up equally into each of the jars.
Help them set a goal, a new toy for example. This will motivate them to put money into the ‘saving’ jar, and when they eventually have enough to buy it, your child will feel a sense of achievement.
You have to know how to spend your money
Obviously children do not have a grasp of bills and other outgoings, and obviously this is all part of the innocence of being a child. But the quicker they learn that some things take priority, the better.
Include your child in the weekly food shop. Tell them what you need for a simply meal, give them a budget, and say they can have a treat providing there’s money for one.
Then show them that substituting brands for supermarket own saves money, or buying in bulk can be beneficial, therefore leaving enough for a treat.
If your child is older, have them set a long-term goal. Then sit with them and work out what they buy with their allowance, and what they could potentially live without in order to reach their goal.
By simply teaching your children that money is not never-ending, and that they have to work for things they want, they’ll have a much better grasp of things and this will begin to prepare them for the future.