Whether you talk about it as a family or not, your children are learning lessons about money all the time. It may be from the news; which highlights risk, or media sources like TV, movies, and social influencers who tend to show big-spending lifestyles. With all these influences around them, it’s important your children begin having conversations with you early about financial responsibility and planning.
Start young, and make it fun!
Your children are constantly learning lessons about borrowing, lending, and sharing. So the more they can learn from you about finances from a young age, the better. This doesn’t have to feel like another school lesson for them either. There are many games out there that demonstrate concepts of commerce and economics such as Monopoly or Settlers of Catan.
By being intentional with your kids, you’re ensuring they learn about finances early and enter adulthood being more confident with their financial position and understanding.
Establish positive financial habits
Whether your child is starting a part-time job, running a paper route, babysitting, or getting an allowance, now is a great time to instill good financial habits. Allow space for your children to ask questions, and share basic ways you as parents choose to save and spend your income.
You can also take advantage of your child’s love for technology! There are many apps out there that offer free ways to track spending, plan a budget, or manage banking. This is a great way to help your child be aware of where their money is going, and help them plan for their financial goals, such as saving for post-secondary education.
Set up banking with them
Once your child starts making a regular income at a part-time job, they will need a place to deposit their earnings. Many banks have low or no fee bank account options available for students. You can help your child to learn about direct deposit, how to use their debit card responsibly, and even set up a savings account for their longer term goals.
This is also another way to help your child be aware of their spending. You can encourage a monthly review of their statements to track where their money is going and review if they’re meeting their savings goals.
Save for a secure financial future now
As a parent, you can support your child’s financial future by investing in life insurance for them. In this article, we outline how this investment can support your children’s future financial stability.
Remember you have a great influence on your children and their understanding of finances. So get the conversation started, and keep it going! Make sure that from a young age your children have a healthy understanding of saving, investing, and spending wisely.