7 'Kids And Money' Fundamentals
Easy Math For Kids, Plus
Money Teaching Tips
Connecting kids and money early on in the home is a simple way to teaching about money. We are trying to help our kids learn some financial responsibility with fun math for kids activities that teaches them and keeps them motivated with reward bucks and personalized children charts.
- We have applied both systems in our home:
- Personalized kids bucks as rewards and
- Earning money from a kids chart
Both encourage proper behaviors and teaches how kids with money can
approach earnings, build good money habits & make wise money
choices.
Financial responsibility with valuable life applications starts in the
home. With some practice, money is a great way to introduce and apply
teaching math for kids in a safe home environment. We started out by
just trying out some of these tips for 90 days and we were really amazed
at each of our children's progress, growth & development--we just
had to keep with it & keep ourselves consistent.
A chart reward system can teach our kids a lot about money.
These three 10 % rules of giving, saving and spending helps kids start learning financial responsibility. I love using it to help introduce, guide and teach fractions, portions and percentage math for kids and money. Helping our kids learn & develop personal finance confidence benefits their lives.
Watching my kids put these money rules into practice(with guidance) helps them gain wisdom and maturity with their personal finance.
Regardless of the earning methods: by chores, paid responsibilities at home or family and friends' money gifts, we like to show our kids how to apply these 10% rules on a regular basis. We also speak with them about our own monthly family finances and how we apply the very same rules.
- Here is how the 10% rules for any received income works:
- 1st 10% is for Giving
- 2nd 10% is for Saving
- 3rd 10% is for Spending
Using these 10% money rules we share ideas about our family living cost, saving money and how kids with money can spend money wisely.
- 10% giving --Put it together towards a church or charity of their choice
- 10% saving --Save the 2nd 10% of your income(1st building up your emergency cash)
- 10% spending --Spend the 3rd 10% on you & your wife--You can be selfish together
Money management 101: Develop financial intelligence, sharing, teaching and reinforcing our own understanding and application of these 10% rules.
Little by little, we can make our money grow and work for us.
Personal Finance Tip #2: Kids Earning Money
Developing financial responsibility in kids with money starts from some of the different ways that kids and money are connected at home.
We use 3 basic approaches how our kids can earn their money at home:
1. Kids chart earning per checkmark for behavior, attitude & actions
2. Kids bucks -- rewards for behavior, 'studies' & following home rules
3. Older kids can run their own 'Business'
We are practicing these kids and money steps as consistently as we can. It is tough to keep ourselves disciplined but the thinking approaches and 'number smart' developing in kids with money is worth it. Keep with it!
Bonus Earnings Tip #3: Money Gifts
What do you do with Birthdays, Christmas & Graduation money gifts?
We follow these different tips with our kids and go right back to our
math for kids money tip #1 guiding them in using the 10% rules. As soon
as they receive some "Extra" earnings, guide them back to the three
10%'s.
We like to say things like:
"That's great, what do you want to do with your 10% giving?"
"What is the first thing you need to do with this money?"
"Hey, that is awesome, your 10% piggy banks are filling up!"
Bring it back to building & reinforcing the habit of the 3 10% money
rules at every chance & opportunity, whenever some 'extra' money
comes in.
Shopping Tip #4: Making Purchases In A Store
It is a lot of fun to go out shopping with our kids, especially when
it's in a dollar store, the Disney store or actually any kids toy store.
With 5 little ones running from aisle to aisle and toy to toy, it's
quite an experience.
We practice delayed gratification with our kids and as a backup to
reinforce this idea we like to compile a wish book with each child for
their Birthdays and Christmas. This works like a charm to keep everyone
'civil' in a store, avoiding crazy store tantrums and we have our
kids(even our 3 yr old) put toys back where they belong again when it is
time to leave the store. Pick up store catalogs to cut & paste
pictures for their wish books.
'Kids And Money' And The Great Store Adventure
We plan the purpose of going into a store and make our expectations very
clear with each child. Before going into a store I like simply
stating:
"Today we're just looking, no buying! We'll put everything back again."
I want this statement to be clear, but with great 'store finds' I'll say:
"This is a Great find! Now we know where we can get it."
"Aha, so this is the store that has this."
I like talk one-on-one with each child about their interests for my own
notes and to talk with them about making purchases, the value of their
money and that it isn't always necessary to spend your money.
A great little math for kids exercise you can do with your kids in the
store could include working out the actual number of hours of 'work' or
checkmarks they will need to earn for something they would like to buy.
Have fun with your 'store' experience. I will also get into an exercise
called the 10-10-10-10-10 that's very insightful for the importance we
place on purchases. A great practice strategy kids and money can benefit
from.
Kids And Money Tip #5: Home Store Night
We've had home 'store nights' with toys, books, games and special
treats--the kinds we don't have on our weekly grocery shopping lists.
This is a great 'reward night' kids can look forward to and work towards
for their spending. They can exchange their checkmarks or 'kids bucks'
for prizes, toys, goodies, coupons or extra date nights with Mom or
Dad.
Our only word of caution is that our kids and store nights started to
develop selfish greed and a lack of care with their purchases. We
wanted our store prices to be reasonable and yet still serve as
incentives to work towards. We may have to reduce the amount of 'stuff'
available and have some slightly higher ticket priced items.
It is exciting to see kids and money in action counting, adding and
problem solving with their choices on items and exercising their
purchasing power.
Math For Kids Tip #6: Teaching Mathematics To Kids
Teaching about money and what kids with money need to know involves some
basic math. Playing with logic puzzles and various math games builds
basic algebra and helps kids and money. The Kids charts and their
earned bucks has given us a lot of great opportunities for teaching
about money.
Math and money basics to start with: addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division, counting, numbers and percentages. Use your
kids and money earnings to develop and apply the 10% money rules into
real habits.
We enjoyed starting monopoly for extension work on finances and Real
estate investing with expenses that give some connection to some of the
basic real life financial challenges. We have taken this financial
education a step further with applications into business investment
ideas, learning about paper assets and investment stock trading. It is a
bit advanced but once our kids basic counting, money math and problem
solving was progressing well, they have been handling it with regular
review.
Keep checking back as I review and analyze the thinking approaches and
benefits for kids learning and playing with different kids math games.
Math can be a lot of fun, and your kids will enjoy the time together.
Kids Debt Advice Tip #7: Credit, Debts & IOU
I had my daughter come up to me once in a store proposing an IOU to make
a purchase of a doll or some baby doll clothing. I of course said it
would not be a problem but I did explain that she would need to pay it
back from her future earnings and we converted it into how much work it
would cost her to get rid of that little debt. Believe it or not she
learned on the spot that this type of debt just wasn't worth it. She
calculated how many checkmarks she would need to work for, to just break
even.
Understanding and differentiating between good and bad debt can be tough
even for us adults. My daughter taught me that day that bad debt is
really whenever something costs you future income--it's money that is
taken out of your pockets. A good connection here is how good debt and
bad debt fit into our balance sheet of assets and liabilities. the one
puts money into your pockets while the other takes money out of your
pockets.
My daughter writing out an IOU with Dad, would have been
an interest free loan, a walking-talking credit card giving her money
without the huge annual interest rates. Credit cards can be a great
tool but sometimes they are a challenge to our buying temptations, even
for kids and money.
We will get into some of these debt advice ideas and how kids can become
quite financially intelligent learners. We can learn from our kids
too.
Kids and Money -- A Pretty Smart Combination
