I wish I learnt the importance of a Budget in school.
Budgeting is something I have had to teach myself and learn through trial and error since becoming an adult, meanwhile, I have not had to find the square root of pie once!
Based on this I am mindful when it comes to my kids to try to teach them what I know so they can find a balance between lifestyle and savings without having to make the mistakes I did growing up.
It is with that in mind that I would love to share my tips for helping kids to budget, there are four in total but remember, no age is too young to start with some or all of these tips…
Monkey see monkey do
We all know that our kids watch everything we do and listen to everything we say (even when it’s an adult word under our breath 😉 ). So this first tip is all about role modelling a good budget in front of your kids. If they grow up seeing you setting a budget, sticking to a budget and making good financial decisions, chances are, they will do it as they get older without questioning it.
Be open about your Budget
I remember when my son was 4 and I told him I didn’t have any money for the shopping centre rides. His response was priceless ‘Mum, just go to the bank, they give you money’ and boy do I wish it was that easy! Saying things to your kids like ‘we don’t have that in the budget’ or, ‘lets add that to the budget next month’ will help them to realise the importance of planning and budgeting.
Get them thinking about their own money
Asking questions when your kids get money is a great way to get them thinking about how they can spend their money. I know there was awhile there my son was saving for an iPad, and doing really well actually! We never told him what to spend his money on, we would instead ask questions to help him see that spending all his money now would set his iPad back even further, and maybe he was ok with that but it was about helping him to make the right decision for him.
Visual Tracking
Finally, one of the best tools (for kids and adults) is visual tracking. When you have a goal in mind, something you want to achieve, you are far more likely to sick to it if it is written down and you have a visual reminder showing you not just your goal but how close you are to reaching it. This is no different for kids.
Want to download some free trackers? head to the bottom of this blog post… Budgeting Tip – visual tracker
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