Teach Kids to be Thrifty Spenders

by: WilliamBlake
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Teaching kids is just plain easier than teaching adults and this principle definitely applies to financial matters. Getting children in the habit of saving as opposed to over spending can and should start early in their lives. Consider the follow suggestions on how it can be accomplished most effectively:

Play money games with your kids. Monopoly was a popular game when I was a kid and kids still like it today. Choosing to buy or sell properties and negotiating fees with other players is good practice for dealing with real money. Just because you have the money to develop your properties doesn't mean that you have the money for upkeep. Players have to make decisions based on present and future earnings.

It's easy to forget about money matters when the parents are footing the bill for everything. A five dollar magazine didn't seem so expensive then. But when they have to pay for it themselves, more thought goes into the process. They'll think about whether they really need that magazine or not.

Don't let your kids get hooked on name brand clothing at an early age. It's okay to have a few name brand items, but they are not the only clothes that will fit their bodies. Take them shopping when you go to Wal-Mart, Target, or a consignment shop. As they choose what to wear, advise them to peruse all of the racks to compare all the prices instead of picking the most expensive clothing.

Take your kids to the grocery store with you. Let them help you make out the grocery list and clip the coupons. As you bargain shop, tell the kids what you are doing. You don't have to go into great detail; just give them an overview of the process.

Practice what you preach. Children learn by observing adults, and you will be giving your kids a very bad example to follow if you make impulsive purchases every time you have some extra cash. Control your spending and stick to your budget so that your children learn to do the same.

Purchase a coin bank. Some kids think that the best money is the kind that folds, but the kind that jingles will spend just as easily. Empty your purse and pockets of their spare coins and collect them in a jar or piggy bank. It may be a good idea to give each child a piggy bank to collect their loose change. Even let them choose their own bank.

Coins can be found all over the place and they add up fast. After a few months have passed and you've collected change from the sofa cushions and other interesting locations, take your piggy bank to a change counting machine to see how much you have been able to save. Kids can spend some of the money and keep the rest as savings.

We learn how to handle money through a series of trials and errors, and kids have to learn too. You can help them to do so successfully by helping them to know how to make good financial decisions and allowing them to suffer the occasional bad consequences of bad choices.

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