How do you teach your children about money?

Teach by example. You are the first - and best - teacher for money management. If you don't instill positive money management values in your children, others will (peers and advertisers) and it will be left to trial and error. Children follow our guidance until about age 10, and then they start looking to their peers.

Without even thinking about it, everyday you are teaching money skills by example through your actions and communications. What you say is not merely as important as what you do. You might want to examine your own money habits and attitudes with the questions below to uncover the message you are sending to your children about money

• Is your approach to financial matters calm and rational?
• Do you argue about money? Neglect savings? Live from paycheck to paycheck?
• Do you feel guilty about money? Anxious? Afraid?
• Do you need money to feel 'good enough'?
• Is money a way to express love, anger, guilt, power?
• Do you overspend? Do you often buy on impulse?
• Is shopping a pastime or a cure for depression?
• Is money the goal -- or a tool to meet goals?
• Do you pay bills on time?
• Do you believe in sharing with the less fortunate?

-Source: Money$kills: 101 Activities
to Teach Your Child About Money:

Talk to your children about the future, whether it is planning and saving for college or a new home. It helps children to know that you are holding off purchasing a new car because you need a new furnace for winter, or that you are saving for the family vacation to Disney instead of using your credit card to finance it now. Setting goals, along with planning and saving, helps you make your vision a reality.

 

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