Nowadays, parents are paying more and more attention to their children’s financial literacy, and the development of technology has made financial education for children more novel and interesting. However, some parents do not want their children to be addicted to electronic products, and hope to have more ways to educate their children on financial knowledge that are closer to life. Next, the editor will introduce you to several ways to discuss, explore, and learn personal financial knowledge with children without electronic products. You can consider and choose the appropriate method according to your child’s age and personality characteristics.
Have your children compare their daily expenses: Talk to your children frequently about the things they buy every day, including the prices of daily necessities, food, and other daily necessities. Encourage them to think about ways to save money, such as shopping around or using vouchers.
You can also extend this discussion to want vs. need topics, such as necessary dinners and the sudden urge to go out to an expensive restaurant, or games that you have to save and earn money to buy. This is a great way to get your kids into good financial habits, no matter their age.
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Learning to calculate savings: Learning to save money can also improve math skills and may have unexpected benefits. For example, 50% off the second item is equivalent to 25% off, but 25% off is not as attractive as 50% off the second item.
This exercise can teach children how to spend money more rationally instead of just saving money. Through this example related to promotions, children can understand that if they buy something they didn’t plan to buy just because it’s on sale, it won’t save money.
Make saving money a routine: Giving your children several piggy banks is a common way for parents to teach them to save money, which can be regarded as a practice before opening a bank account. It is also very simple to operate: prepare three piggy banks and put the money that needs to be spent, saved and donated in them.
After children receive pocket money, lucky money, scholarships, or any other income, you can ask them to divide the money into three parts and put them in three different piggy banks. Whether to divide it equally or in proportion can be decided by you and your children.
A piggy bank is especially important for younger children, so they can actually see their savings grow. Once they are older, they can open a bank account.
Open up your books and communicate honestly: You can decide how much information you share with your children, but know that honestly sharing your experience in managing your finances can help them better face their future lives. You can start by sharing food and household expenses with your children, or you can add some information, such as monthly credit card bills.
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For example, you can let your children look at the household expense bill every month and discuss how to use water and electricity more reasonably to reduce this part of the expenditure, or look at the bank card and credit card bills together to study how each expense affects the family and personal spending plans.
You can also help your child understand things like bank interest rates by discussing monthly loan payments. A closer look at savings and investment accounts can also teach your child how compound interest can help increase their income.
Lead by example: Learning financial skills through exercises, lessons, and stories is important, but many children also learn good and bad habits through their parents’ actions. This is also a great opportunity for you to improve your financial knowledge and skills.
Improving financial literacy is not something that can be achieved overnight. You may remember some practical knowledge, such as interest rates, but it takes a long time to develop more important habits. Helping children understand how to manage money in a variety of ways can lay a good foundation for their future financial capabilities.
