Money Saving Tips For Kids

Teaching money saving tips to kids is a valuable life skill. I usually start introducing basic concepts when my children began to understand the concept of money.

That age varied greatly with each one.

There is so much for us to teach kids about saving money and this can be overwhelming.

Here is a basic rundown of basic money facts kids need to know:

You need to work if you want to have money
Saving is extremely important
Giving money to charities or causes are important
Needs vs Wants
Learn how to budget

These are the few subjects I covered with all my children.

If they got these concepts than I knew we could go into more in-depth tips on saving money.

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Tips On Saving Money

If you are familiar with any of my other posts, then you know I like using American Girl Books to teach my children valuable Life Skills.

American Girl has a book on a Guide To Money. It is targeted to girls but very much appropriate for boys. this book is extremely adaptable.

I like the general idea of how this book is laid out. Teaches kids that money is a tool and when you make smart decisions it is something to be proud of.

Since I’m the one that does most of the purchases and pays the bills, I’m the one that the kids look to as an example.

I and my husband do the budget together but I’m the one to execute it.

For the most part, I’m would consider myself pretty thrifty.

I buy most of our clothes second hand or look for really good deals. Especially the end of seasons sales. The kids recognize this.

They know I have a budget when we go to the grocery store. They may mention sometimes if they see something running out.

I will always ask them how many days we have left of the item.

If it can wait till the following week, I let them know that because it wasn’t budgeted for.

So let’s dive into this book and I show you how we worked through this book together.

I like to point to my kids that the money they receive is because someone worked hard to earn it.

My kids get money for birthdays and Christmas most years from the grandparents.

We don’t give an allowance (save the gasp) to our children. Doing regular chores around the house is just earning your keep and that’s just what being a part of this family is about.

They earn money for the extra chores they do outside of their daily chores.

That is one way they earn money.

It’s not like we’re working them too much.

We just want to establish a good work ethic.

Believe me, if you knew us and our children they are by far from being overworked.

The extra chores for example are:

raking leaves (where we live there are a ton of leaves)
detail cleaning (washing cabinets, helping me reorganize sections of the house that gets cluttered, doing a lot of detail cleaning)
other seasonal yard work
washing windows

You get the point. The extra stuff that you don’t do daily or weekly. Or I should say, “we don’t do daily or weekly.”

So now that we have established that they are receiving money as gifts and doing extra work around the house to obtain money. How are we going to teach them the importance of, “how much money should I save?”

Are You A Saver Or Spender?

This is where I like to get my kids thinking about how they use their money. Ask them to think about when they had received money from the past. Did they save or spend it all? Or maybe did they do a little of both.

Also, are your kids influenced by seeing what their peers or other people have? This is a good time to teach about the difference between want and need.

Depending on the age of your child, you can make a list of Wants vs Needs. This gives you also a good idea about what kind of emotion they have attached to money.

Here is a list of emotions that people can have towards money:

Generosity
Guilt
Confidence
Greed
Jealousy
Pride
Anxiety
Happiness

Have a conversation with your child about their emotions towards money.

This will help them become more money smart and want to save that money.

If you have a child that just likes to spend the money just because they have it, then this would be a good time to instill what saving is all about.

There is also some fun scenarios and quizzes in the book that your child may like to take.

I know when I was a preteen I always loved taking the quizzes from teen magazines.

Unique Ways To Earn Money

First, I know the book is geared to “money saving tips for girls,” but this book can be easily adapted to boys. All the ideas it has to make money can be for boys also.

I really love the idea of teaching our children to have an entrepreneurial spirit. It gives them self-esteem and teaches them to think out of the box.

Teaching your child about making their own money can be a good family activity. Brainstorming as a group teaches valuable life skills.

Here are some examples from the book:

Asking your neighbors if there are any odd jobs around their place is a good place to start.
Think about what people need or want. Examples would be(babysitting or dog walking) obviously this would need to be an age-appropriate job.
Turn a hobby or talent into an opportunity to make money. I have a good example to share with you. Our oldest daughter is a very good artist. When she was 13, we helped her put iron-on pictures of her drawing on T-Shirts. We then sold them online.

When your child is enthusiastic about working for their own money, it will make them a harder worker.

It gives them a better appreciation for money.

Easy Ways To Save Money

Here is a way to help your child get creative and excited about saving money. You can discuss with them about some things they want to save up for.

Teaching saving money tips to your children can be very easy.

So for example, if your child receives an allowance then you can help them come up with a simple budget.

Learning to budget at an early age will help them prepare for their future when they get a steady job. As a parent, you are setting your child up for success.

Depending on the age of your child the budget will look different as they grow.

If they just have an allowance then the amount will be smaller to budget.

If you have a teen earning a regular paycheck, then the budget will definitely look different.

I definitely encourage a bank account and the book further discusses that.

The basis of a simple budget will look like this:

How much do I expect to earn or receive every month?
Do I have a plan on how much I want to spend every month?
What I plan to save?

How Much Money Should I Be Saving?

This is a good way for your child to see visually how they use their money.

Because trying to encourage them to save more than they spend will also set them up for a better future.

The “Smart Girls Guide To Money book” goes much deeper into starting your own business, being responsible with a bank card, setting up a savings account and so much more.

I feel the biggest points we are trying to instill in our children is to develop good money habits.

To be mindful and knowing the difference between wants and needs.

It’s important to save and budget their money. Because if they are just getting $5.00 dollars a week, they need to learn to save that money.

Starting my kids out young with saving money was important to us.

Children need to be mindful of birthdays and Christmas for example. So, even if I was just taking them to the dollar store to buy presents.

They were saving the money to buy presents for there family.

I could honestly tell you that all 4 of them did this. This was money they had earned and saved up for.

Our kids enjoyed buying and giving these gifts to others.

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Hope you found these saving money tips to be useful. Teaching your children about the basics of money can be simple and fun.

I would love to hear back from you! Thank You!

Domestic Engineer Mom

Robbin

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