Teaching kids the value of money
Published by jinfinite8 January 18th, 2008 in Resources.I have two thoughts about my kids and money. First, that I want my kids to know EARLY that money doesn’t buy happiness. Second, I want my kids to know that money doesn’t buy happiness.
Apart from that it would be nice if they can all develop a healthy relationship with money - you know, the kind where you spend money in a half way intelligent way, save money, avoid debt, and spend money on what really matters to you. This is where I really fell down for Max and Charlie because I had absolutely no clue and therefore had no hope of showing them the right relationship to have with money. It’s only as I approach my 39th birthday that I’ve got half a clue and I still have a huge way to go.
One of the things that really bugs me right now is that John and Julia have a really unrealistic picture of money and toys. That’s our fault (the dumb parents). I found an article today that I found very useful and I’m going to put it in play. I think that it has as much chance of helping with chores (especially John and Julia) cleaning their room, as it does with showing them the value of money and that’s why I like it. Thanks for the tip beingfrugal.net!
Thanks for the mention! I’m glad you liked the idea, and best of luck with it!
Today was fun. It’s been three weeks since we started our chores and they’ve been moer successful than I would have hoped. Julia spent her first weeks wages on a toy at target and she was very pleased. John couldn’t find ANYTHING he wanted at Target that day and after I gave him chance after chance to either pick something or save the money, he just couldn’t make up his mind. I explained that was because he really didn’t want any of the things that were in his budget and it didn’t make sense to buy them. Of course, he was not happy with this because he had no instant gratification. I know how he feels.
In the end John chucked a fit but gave in to saving. Today was a happy day because we went to Toys R Us and he had enough money to get something he wanted. I’m sure over time he will understand more and more that you have to be patient and work for what you want without the adult lectures. More than any of what I’ve said the positive reinforcement of their daily chores is REALLY valuable. The kids are doing things that they refused to do and at bed time (when I give them check marks) they get really excited. At the end of the week they earn stars and those stars earn them money. This week they had slacked off a bit so I gave them a $1 less and explained why.