There are so many things I fear for when I think of my children’s future, but financial burdens don’t need to be one of them. While I am a stay at home mom, it means that we don’t have loads of extra money each month and we live paycheck to paycheck half of the time because of medical bills and other unexpected expenses that come from raising kids. I am not complaining, just simply stating, that even though we only have one income, we make it work!
This is where my kids come in…I don’t like to sugar coat things when it comes to money. If we are out and about and they ask to eat out, and I know we don’t have the money, I tell them honestly that we just don’t have the money. This way they learn what it means to make good decisions. I believe that by me setting an example with our budget and being open with my kids about it, that they will also learn the importance of managing money.
My daughter is 8 now and she is a big helper around the house and with my youngest (who is 14 months) and my other two as well. I occasionally ask her to “babysit” for me so I can have 30 minutes just to relax and read a book or work on a project and she does a good job. Since I am just in the other room, it gives her the chance to “be in charge” without being left alone. Not only is this building her level of responsibility, it is helping her learn how to care for children. In return for her time, I usually pay her $1.
This isn’t much, but honestly she doesn’t even really “need” money yet, so it is just learning time for her and a chance to save up some dollars for something on her want list. We have been going over Dave Ramsey’s Junior kit and she is learning that of that $1, she puts 10% into her “Giving Bag”, 20% into her “Saving Bag” and the rest can go into her “Spending Bag”. Of course the 10% is = $0.10, the 20% is = $0.20 and the other $0.70 goes into her spending money. (you can get a Financial Peace Junior Kit on amazon for a great price)
This is teaching her a great foundation, so that as she gets older she knows how to take care of the money she gets and will put some into savings, and be willing to donate a little to charity. Both of those are very important and if she learns it now with dimes, then when she starts getting “quarters” the methods will still be the same.
Right now we are teaching her the value of a dime! We have opened up a FREE kids savings account for her and we put a little money into each month, but she also puts 20% of what she makes into it! She gives us her money and we transfer it from our account. This is teaching her to save money and
HOW DO YOU TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?
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