Learning and motivating children to make the right decisions about money might be a difficult task for many. However, it will shape them in people who know how to save more no matter how much they earn and will teach them how to spend money that is “smartly spent”.
So, what’s they easiest way to teach your child how to save money?
Simple. Show him your example.
Is that enough? Not always. According to the serpadres.es blog (source) here’s 10 tips you can use to really keeping them motivated for that:
1. Establish a monthly or weekly pay. This way they will learn to organize their economy, just as parents have to do with their salary, with which they have to face all household expenses.
2. It is convenient for children to realize that money is limited and that if they choose to spend it on one thing, they are giving up using it in another way. This way they will learn that they must think well about what to spend it and take advantage of it properly. If they spend money on lollipops they will not have chewing gum.
3. Explain where the money comes from, the effort that parents have to make each month to get it. It is not about being alarmist, but about being aware of what it costs to earn it and how quickly it is spent when we do not plan our finances well. Children tend to think that money is unlimited or simply do not stop to think about it.
4. Teach them to create a budget based on their monthly pay and review it with them at the end of the month. It is not a matter of being very strict, but of transmitting the importance of planning.
5. Keeping a track of the monthly expenses is a good way to control money better, and realize the amount of expenses we make daily without realizing it.
6. Talk about the advantages of saving and how important it is to have a mattress for incidentals. You can set a goal that motivates you, for example, buy a toy.
7. Show them the difference in value of coins and bills through games. You should also explain that what is paid with a card, even a piece of plastic, is still money.
8. To make them see that getting money takes an associated effort, you can make the following game: when they need extra money for a toy, for example, explain that since it is an additional cost to their pay, they will have to earn it. For this, it should help you in a series of domestic tasks and in return, you will give that money. But beware, this does not become a habit: they must get used to spending what they have, no more.
9. Let them see the difference between necessary and superfluous expenses. The children are very capricious and it is difficult to make them understand these concepts. You can use simple examples to make her see that difference. For example, explain that you can not go to school without clothing-necessary expense-but you can go without always wearing the latest model of brand shoes-superfluous.
10. The best advice, as always, is to set an example. Children learn everything and copy the behavior of their parents, so if on one hand you talk about the importance of saving, but you can not prove it with your own savings, it will be difficult to believe you.