Teach your child early about money

 

Children and money….

 

How do you teach them the value, use and ways to save? 

Break it down for them by using envelopes, or containers.  Talk to your children about the money they’re earning and how it will be spent.  In simple terms, we’re talking about a budget.  Their input and participation will be what makes this work. 

Ask them what their ideas are for the names of their categories.  Suggestions you might give them for envelope or container’s names:  Tithe or Offering…….Something I Want……… Gifts………. Savings.  If you start with these four, you can add on later.  Each one of the envelope categories will need explaining by you. 

Tithe and Offerings….

Why do you give a tithe to church?  Why would I want to give money to missionaries (offering)?  The New Testament talks about us being ‘cheerful givers’, because God loves a ‘cheerful giver’.  Remember to let them know that God is not the Mafia, giving you trouble until you pay Him off.  Talk about ‘give and it will be given to you; pressed down, shaken together and running over will men give to you’. 

Something I Want……

Why not?  There’s always something you want too.  Anything accumulated in this container will be their’s to spend.  Give them advice on the items they want to buy, but the ultimate decision should be theirs. How else will they learn for future situations?  You do have a say about what they purchase that could be harmful.  (Remember to pay attention to video games ratings before they purchase them).  Let them put pictures of what their goals are on the envelope. 

Gifts…….

If they’re giving a gift to someone (birthday, Christimas, Valentine’s, friends), then it should be from them and their finances.  Understandably there are times they don’t have enough money for a gift and then you can help with a purchase.  If it’s in the family, making something can be even better than a store purchase gift.  Show them ‘it’s better to give than to receive’.  Help them find what the person receiving the gift would like and make it a personal gift…not just something your child would want.  Spend the time together looking and getting excited about finding just the right gift.  This will be time well spent!

Savings……..

Teaching them to have something put away for the future?……priceless.  In an age where signing  up for credit is as easy as filling in a form, teach them to wait, be patient and have money growing to accommodate their future needs.  Talk about going to camp in the summer, taking a vacation and having money to spend.  Get them to think beyond ‘instant gratification’. 

As certain as you’re setting up a Tithe and Offering envelope, you’ll see your children looking into their empty Something I Want container and deciding that it will be okay to use the Tithe money for ‘something I want’.   God has a lot of money, so why not use it?!  This is where you ‘hold the boundaries’ established when your child set up the containers and agreed to the idea.  As your child learns the concept of ‘wait’, you will be equipping them with a valuable Life Lesson………

 

God is first; they are important and should spend some money on themselves when they have it; the future will be an easier place if you’re saving for it now! 

Have you done anything to help your children with money ideas?  Leave a comment and share with everyone what you’ve done!