Financial Lessons Can Be Taught All Year
The start of a new school year brings the excitement, and challenges, of learning new things. While the school year, and its lessons, last for 9 or 10 months, there are some lessons that can be taught all year long.
Teaching your children good financial lessons at a young age can get them started on the right path to making good financial choices throughout their whole life.
Start with these three basic concepts:
1) The Difference Between a Need and a Want
We all have things we want, but are they always things we need? Teaching your children the value of understanding a need vs. a want will help them spend their money wisely and prioritize what’s most important. Understanding the need to save and pay their bills before they buy video games or concert tickets is a concept that needs to be learned long before they become adults.
2) How to Set Financial Goals
Setting goals is a part of life. Learning to set good financial goals at a young age will help your child see the value in setting and accomplishing goals. Start by setting a savings goal for something they want and then help them determine how much money to set aside each week or month to make the purchase, and how long it will take them to do so. Learning this practice early will make it easier to establish good savings habits and goals well into adulthood.
3) Everything Costs Money
Helping children understand the value of money can be a hard, and sometimes painful lesson. While it’s fun to think we can buy everything we want, it’s not reality. Everything really does cost money and money doesn’t grow on trees. So, it’s important to teach children that they must think before they buy. If they choose to buy candy or that new toy today, it may take them longer to purchase that new skateboard they’ve been saving for. Making the right choice today could prevent regret tomorrow.
Teaching children how to make good financial choices doesn’t have to be hard. Make it a part of the other life lessons you’re teaching them and then show them by example in your own life.