Fun Ways to Teach Your Child About Money
“Havin’ money isn’t everything, not havin’ it is.” Kanye West said it best, and I couldn’t agree more. Money isn’t the only thing you need in life, but not having it can complicate a lot of things in your life. Knowing this has further pushed my agenda to teach my child the importance of money, and most importantly, why it’s a great idea to build wealth, and save.
The initial phases of learning money management and saving can be very boring and repetitive but it doesnt have to be that way. Teaching your financial literacy CAN be fun. Read on for ways to teach your child about money.
Coin Bingo
This game is similar to the traditional game of BINGO, however instead of numbers being on the board, you have pictures of the different coins, as well as the coin amounts ($.10, .25, etc) on the board. Call out different dollar coin amounts on the board and when your child hears an amount that's on their board, they put the corresponding coin on it, until they fill a line in one direction. At that point, they will tell, BINGO. This game teaches your child the different coins in a way that they will love.
Paper Wallet
Fold ten index cards in half to mimic a real wallet. After you have folded them, write numbers, all the way to 10, on them. Give your child a ample amount of coins in paper of plastic cups. Separate and sort the coins. Have your child pick one of the "paper wallets", and have them glue the coins to the wallet to make up the number that's on the front of it. If their card says "8". they will glue coins to the paper to make up the number eight.
The Grocery Store Game
Set small grocery store items around the house, with prices, and hand your child a reusable grocery bag. Allow them to shop around for items, and when they are done, tell them to go to the checkout line to purchase the items. Total up the items they have put in their bag and give them their total. Allow them the space figure out how much to give you, but help them if they ask. If they give you the correct amount of money, they can keep all the snacks. If the amount they give you is not correct, allow them to give you the amount of each item, separately, and allow them to keep the items they pay for correctly.
These games are a great start for younger children, to begin the process of learning financial literacy, but tailor them to your child. With good spending habits and saving plans, you can set your child up for a future that doesn't involve debt. Thanks for reading, and see you next Sunday!