Make saving money fun for your kids

The relationship we have with money is as a result of our upbringing. If you are a big spender, it probably has to do with a chapter in your childhood and money habits you picked up from your parents. Your relationship with money should be healthy and not abusive and such you need to build your child’s money habits while they are young. Starting them young will reap great results as they grow and build a better relationship with money. Teaching your children age-appropriate lessons about handling money is important. Last month was National Savings Month, it’s not too late to get them started and make saving more fun.

Make saving fun and not a chore

Gone are the days when saving was as basic as giving your child money and them throwing some of it into the piggy bank. There are more exciting ways that get your child involved so that they understand the concept of saving. As your children get older, explore ways to teach them ‘adult’ money lessons in practical and memorable ways. One way could be to pay them ‘performance bonuses’ for spotting opportunities that save money in the home and in their schooling. When you do annual uniform shopping and they find a cheaper deal on school shoes elsewhere, invest the difference into savings.

Open an account for them

You might consider opening a tax-free savings account on behalf of your child, or a unit trust account. A formal way to save can make your children cognisant of the cause you are saving towards, and aware that their efforts are actively making a difference. Share their account statements with them so that they will be less intimidated by personal financial planning and have a realistic idea of what it looks like to grow their money.

Give them an allowance

You can also mimic the discipline of saving by paying pocket money on a specific date each month. This demonstrates that money isn’t available on tap and things need to be planned and saved for. Should the money be finished, they need to learn to wait until they receive their allowance comes again. Should they be short towards what they want, then they should save until they have enough.

Go grocery shopping with them

When you do your monthly groceries, take them with and show them how to bargain hunt for affordable items. Tell them your budget and don’t exceed it. If you stay within budget reward them with an amount on their allowance. It will motivate them to save and look for deals for the family.

Allow trial and error

Talk to your children about questions that they may have about money. By helping them understand what’s confusing them, it opens their mind to creative ways to work with it. Once your teenagers understand the concept of compound interest, the excitement and devotion to growing the initial amount might kick in. Putting what they learned at Maths class is exciting for them.

Give them more financial responsibility

By giving older children the occasional responsibility of doing their own stationery shopping ,with your supervision, not only will they learn how to compare prices and stick to the budget, but they will also learn to become familiar with the cost of things (and how they can change over time). Hopefully, your child will learn that financial planning is based on needs first, then wants. Textbooks? Need. New PlayStation? Want. It will also teach them to compare prices and quantity versus quality.

Act like their financial adviser

Nothing makes life easier than being transparent with your kids. Pretend to be their financial adviser, who is a qualified professional who commits to evaluating your current situation and help you build a realistic strategy toward reaching your ideal financial goals.  As your children gain more understanding, find out their financial goals. You want them to understand the role of a financial adviser in their personal financial planning journey when the time comes, but more importantly, to be honest with their adviser. You might consider including them in conversations you have with your adviser as well. Small lessons amount to big, well-informed decisions and as a parent, the ongoing lesson of being financially prepared is a gift that will reap many rewards in the future. It is better to start them young so that along the line they start achieving financial freedom.