3 Tips For Raising a Financially Savvy Child

3 Tips For Raising a Financially Savvy Child

 

It’s all too common for teenagers and young adults to experience money woes – especially when they were never taught how to properly handle money. In school we learn math, science, and reading comprehension but most of us make it through high school with zero experience balancing a checkbook or learning about credit card debt. This is unfortunate.

 

Financial experts agree that the earlier you begin teaching your child about money, the more responsible they will be about finances later in life.

 

Read on for three ways you can raise a financially savvy child and impart good spending habits for life.

 

Help your child start saving early

The sooner your child learns the meaning of savings, the better. Children and adults alike should never underestimate the power of compounding interest. If you put your loose change into a piggy bank or shoebox for your child, you can make an activity of watching the spare change add up. Eventually you can deposit that into a bank account and your child will have a foundation for life. The strategy is simple” The earlier you start saving, the better off you’ll be. Teach your child this mantra and make sure savings always outweighs spending.

 

Teach your child the value of a dollar

Nothing demonstrates the value of a dollar like getting a job. Encourage your child to start a lemonade stand, walk dogs, or mow lawns in the neighborhood to earn some spending money and learn how to work for their paycheck. Never does a dollar become so precious as when you put your own time and effort into earning it.

If you can impart this wisdom to your child at a young age, they will carry the lesson with them for life.

 

Encourage giving

So many of us emphasize the importance of making money, but we tend to skim over the part about giving it away. Teach your child the importance of volunteering, giving to charity, and donating funds to causes that are important to them. The more money you make, the more you should give away to those in need. Learning when to give money away is as important a lesson as learning how to earn it.

 

Money management is something many people struggle with throughout their lives. It’s your job as a parent to set your child on the right path and teach him or her the importance of spending wisely.

 

Disclosure:  This post is a guest post as a result of my membership with Mom with Voices Media.  Regardless, all opinions are all my own.