Now more than ever it is important to budget our money and save our pennies when we can.
Teaching our little ones about money-saving tips is an invaluable life lesson that they will appreciate understanding in the future.
Whether your child gets given pocket money every week for doing household chores or they are lucky enough to receive cash for special occasions like birthdays and at Christmas time, showing them how they can enjoy their money while still being able to save some for the future is a great life lesson to teach your child.
To help make the teaching aspect easier, we’ve shared some simple yet effective ways to tell them about budgeting and saving money in a child-friendly way they’ll understand.
Use visual aids
Give your child a piggy bank or savings jar so they can see where their money goes and remind them how money can grow over time.
Give pocket money
Give your little one pocket money for completing age-appropriate household chores. It’s best to start from a young age so they understand that when they work, they will be compensated for it and they understand how to appreciate the money they earn. They may think twice about wanting to buy an expensive toy or game once they know how many chores they have to do to be able to afford it.
Three-jar system
Have three jars in your child's bedroom with one marked for spending, another for saving and the third for charity or gift giving is a great visual way of showing how to budget money. When your child receives money they can decide how to split it between the jars. This way they'll understand where their money should go if they want to save for a big toy, spend it on a book now or save for a friend’s birthday present.
Help with shopping
When doing the food shopping, get your child involved by getting them to look out for deals or discounts on items on your list. This way they can see that spending less on some foods means you can save money to go towards other things or have extra to spend on a treat.
Make it a game
Monopoly is a great way to show children the importance of saving and spending money on worthwhile things. Using counters, an abacus or pretend money for younger children is an ideal way for them to understand the value of money.
Books
There are many books on the market targeted at children to teach them about the importance of saving money. Try heading to your local library for books too so they can understand that once they spend money on an item, they will have less in their savings or to spend on other treats.
