7 Keys to Raising Money Smart Kids
By Liz DaSilva – Mom, Teacher and Co-Founder
of KidsWealth
Is Money Important In Your Life?
Will Money Be Important In Your Kid’s
Life?
Absolutely!
According to the US Education Secretary,
Margaret Spellings; “One of the skills
most critical to our kid’s future success
is to know how to manage money.” Below
are the keys to teaching your kids how to
successfully manage money, learn the value
of a dollar and build successful money habits
that will last them a lifetime...to becoming
financially free and independent!
While the facts about kids and money in today’s
economy are worrisome, the good news is there’s
hope. You can help secure a bright future
for your kids by raising them to be smart
with money! What they learn as kids will become
a solid foundation for a lifetime of joy and
happiness! Imagine if you had learned how
to manage money when you were a kid. Would
it have made a difference in your life? What
if you had started a Wealth account when you
were 5 or 6 years old, could you use an extra
$100,000 today? How about $250,000?
So let’s start!
Teaching Kids About Money Starts At Home!
Younger Is Better!
Pay Your Kids "REAL" Money!
Teach Your Kids A Money Management System!
Allow Your kids To Manage Their Money And
Make Their Own Decisions!
Trust, Guide And Support Your Child’s
Learning!
Keep It Simple And Have Fun!
1. Teaching Kids About Money Starts At Home!
While you may think your kids learn or should
learn about money in school, they don’t!
Even the few that do take a personal finance
course, results show these courses on financial
literacy just don’t work. The fact is,
as a parent, you are responsible to teach
your kids about money and it starts at home!
Parents have the most influence with kids,
especially when they are young. Remember,
whatever you choose to teach your kids today
will have a direct impact on them for the
rest of their lives. Make a decision today
to accept responsibility for teaching your
kids about money and start now! Your child’s
future really does depend on it!
2. Younger Is Better!
The younger your kids, the easier it will
be for them to listen and accept what you
are teaching. The key is to capture this opportunity
before peer pressure starts to compete with
you! Research has shown that you can start
to teach your kids about money as young as
four years old and should most definitely
be started by age 12. Teenagers are a much
harder group to teach as their friends become
more influential and their quest for independence
from you begins. Research shows that by age
13, most kids have already developed poor
money (saving/spending) habits that they must
now break and replace with new successful
habits, if they are to be financially successful.
3. Pay Your Kids “REAL” Money!
The best way to learn to do anything successfully
is through hands-on experience. For your kids
to learn about money, they need to manage
“real” money. Traditional $2 - $5
per week allowances, merely teach kids to
spend. To learn to manage money, kids need
to be paid a “Real” salary: a “Kid’s
Pay” each and every month and the amount
should be in direct proportion to your income
and lifestyle for it to have real meaning
to them!
Would you ever consider paying your kids
$50, $100 or even $200 every month as their
Kid’s Pay?
Chances are you do anyway. It’s just
a matter of how and who controls the decision
making? Just think of how much you spend on
your kids every month for toys, games, movies,
books, candy, video games, CD’s, DVD’s
, MP3’s, gifts; the list goes on and
on! Now ask yourself, of all the money you
have spent so far on your kids, what did they
learn about money other than ask Mom or Dad?
Since you are paying for everything anyway,
would you not agree it would be useful to
pay them part of what you currently spend
and have them manage their own money? The
key is to pay them their Kid’s Pay relative
to the family income and lifestyle, then have
them actively participate financially in every
day life using their money.
4. Teach Your Kids A Money Management System!
Kids develop lasting habits from repetition
and as the saying goes “practice makes
perfect.” Actually, practice makes permanent.
If what you are practicing is wrong or doesn’t
work, then what result would you expect to
get? The key is to teach them a simple money
management system that works and delivers
results – one that is based on a proven
wealth-building formula that will help your
kids not just learn to manage money but will
also help them to achieve financial success.
5. Allow Your Kids To Manage Their Money
And Make Their Own Decisions!
Once your kids have been paid and are managing
their money using the wealth-building money
management system, you need to let them make
their own decisions with their money. Offer
advice, but they must make the final decision
and be accountable for their decisions. This
is how your kids will learn and it’s
ok if they make mistakes. Better they make
these mistakes within the safety of the family
environment and not under the influence of
a credit card company! Kids will surprise
you with how great they are with money once
they understand its true value and how it
relates to them!
6. Trust, Guide And Support Your Kids Learning!
While this may seem obvious, many parents
have a fear of giving their kids money. This
is valid if only money is randomly given.
If there is a structured process for paying
your kids, a system for them to manage their
money and be responsible with their money,
then you will find this fear unnecessary.
Also, for your kids to learn, you have to
teach them and believe in them. This helps
them grow and become strong, confident and
develop high self-esteem. Guide them as you
see best, support them through the process
and reward them for success.
7. Keep It Simple And Have Fun!
The best way to motivate your kids is to
keep it simple and make it fun. You do not
need to start by teaching them a lot of confusing
financial terms and concepts; this will come
in time after they have dealt with their own
money for a while. Financial literacy –
words and jargon have no meaning without money
and knowing how to manage it. The key is to
teach financial competency using real money
in a simple fun and meaningful way.
Imagine trying to teach your child to ride
a bike by giving them a book or explaining
to them how to ride a bike, without giving
them a bike to ride. Not only will they find
it boring, they cannot learn to ride a bike.
For them to learn, they need to get on, start
peddling, and eventually they get it on their
own once they figure out how to balance, stop
and handle. The same goes with teaching your
kids how to handle money.
The KidsWealth Money Kit is like the “training
wheels” of money. It helps your child
to balance and master as they learn to handle
it on their own, with your guidance and support
of course.
Remember, your child’s future depends
on the decisions you make today. You wouldn't
want your kids to grow up and say “If
only I had learned about money when I was
a kid”, would you?
To help promote Financial Literacy, KidsWealth is offering a special promotion for the month of April!
For each KidsWealth Kit ordered, they will include one FREE age-appropriate KidsWealth Tracker plus FREE shipping on the entire order (*Free Shipping for US and Canada Orders only). To order your child their own KidsWealth
Money Kit – click on the banner below..
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Use the information provided on this site as an educational resource for determining your options and making your own informed choices. It is not intended as medical advice or to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any specific illness.