Let's talk about Checks Baby

As my kids get older, I am realizing how much I need to teach them about money and finances. Even though they are 8 and 5 right now, it's never too early to start teaching them lessons about money.

Growing up, neither my husband nor I had families with a lot of money. We learned the value of hard work, making touch choices and having to make sacrifices to get the things you need instead of what you want.

However, we have done a 180 with our kids. We give them the things they need and want and then some! We want our kids to have all the things we didn't have. Which is great in theory.... But, when you have a child getting an attitude because you won't buy them more V-bucks (after you already spent $35 on V-bucks that day) - you realize, these doggone kids think there is some endless pot of money somewhere. Well, reality check, there is no pot!

So, we decided it's time to stop the shenanigans and teach these kids some valuable lessons about money. First lesson, it is FINITE!

There is SO much to teach them but we decided to start with 3 basic concepts - earning, spending and saving money.

Earning money

At our kids age right now, they don't have jobs so they are not really "earning" money. We have discussed creating a chore chart for them so that they can earn some cash but we've struggled with this because chores are things that need to get done... PERIOD! And, I don't want to have to pay my kids to do what is necessary to keep the house clean and to be responsible for taking care of the things they have. Then I came across this great post by Kids Money Academy which shared these tips regarding chores:

1. First of all, nobody likes chores! Nobody! So, gone ahead and remove the word "chore" from your vocabulary. Swap it with "responsibility" or "family contribution". Those words are more empowering and the kids can view it as their way of having a role in the family ecosystem.

2. Invite your kids to help with certain things. How you position it can influence their attitudes with helping out around the house... If you demand they get up and bark orders at them, they will associate negative feelings with regards to household responsibilities.

3. Show appreciation through words (not necessarily money). Have them earn experiences or rewards that are not money specific.

We will have our kids earn an allowance through good behavior and going above and beyond their specific household responsibilities. This way, the money is not tied to the chores (couldn't help it - less characters to type 🤷🏾‍♀️)

Spending money

This is clearly the kids' favorite part. They LOVE to spend, spend, spend like there is no end! One of the lessons I am trying to teach my kids is the difference between wants and needs. This is a valuable lesson for the kids to learn because as you begin to teach them things about budgeting, they'll have to make choices and sacrifices. Think about it, as parents, we do this all the time. If there is something our kids really need, we sacrifice something we'd want to be able to meet their needs. We do it day in- day out but they never know it! So rather than continuing to make these decisions alone, we'll be bringing them into the discussion so that they understand how to make those tough decisions.

Needs: things you need in order to survive

Wants: things that would be a nice to have, but you can live without

Teaching kids to prioritize their needs and save up/ earn their wants is a tough lesson but a valuable one nonetheless.

Saving Money

Boooo, I can hear all the 10 year olds throwing tomatoes at me from the cheap seats!! I know, I know, saving can be lame. BUT, when you're able to get something that you have been wishing and hoping for for a long time, it makes it all worth it.

Like most parents, we got our kids piggy banks. They drop every coin they find and receive in these things. But I recently picked up a great tip from The Opposite of Spoiled by Ron Lieber, about how to teach the kids what to do with their money. Essentially, instead of just having a piggy bank, create a trio of jars labeled Spend, Save, Give. This will help the kids to learn the concepts of spending, saving, budgeting and charitable giving at one time!

Spend jar: decide up front how they will split their money between the 3 jars. For the spend jar, this is the money they can spend on whatever they want or need. A few questions they should ask themselves are:

1. Is it really worth it?

2. Will I use this or play with it when I am bored?

3. Is it a good deal?

Save jar: Have the kids set some long or short term goals of things they would like to buy. They should save up and continue to count the money until they get to their goal. Then see their beaming faces when they are able to take that money to the store and get something they have been wanting for a while.

Give jar: this is the jar the kids should contribute to with a goal of donating to a charity of their choice. Work with them to identify a charity and how much they'd like to contribute. Or, if you are a church-going family, this could also be used for their tithing. This will teach them the valuable lesson of giving back to others.

There is so much to teach our children as we set the foundation for the types of adults they will be when they grown up. Feel free to share any additional tips with me that you've learned along the way.

XO,

Ayanna