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Teaching Money Matters: How Parents Can Talk About Money with Kids

November 16th, 2024 Posted in kids and money, learning about money
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Talking about money with kids can feel daunting, but it’s an essential life skill that sets them up for financial success. Early conversations about saving, spending, and budgeting can build your child’s confidence and help them develop healthy money habits. Here’s a guide to starting meaningful money talks with your children.

Teaching Money Matters: How Parents Can Talk About Money with Kids

Photo by Diwei Zhu on Unsplash

Why Discussing Money Matters with Kids is Important

In many households, money is a taboo topic, but avoiding it can leave children unprepared for the real world. By introducing age-appropriate conversations about finances, you empower your kids to:

  • Understand the value of money.
  • Differentiate between wants and needs.
  • Make informed spending decisions.
  • Appreciate the importance of saving.

These lessons can shape their attitudes and behaviours, fostering financial responsibility from an early age.

Age-Appropriate Money Conversations

For Younger Children (Ages 3-7):

  • Introduce Coins and Notes: Let them handle physical money to understand its different denominations.
  • Play Money Games: Games like shopkeeper or using pretend cash registers can make learning fun.
  • Simple Savings Jar: Teach them to save for something they want by using a clear jar. Seeing money grow can be incredibly motivating.

For Tweens (Ages 8-12):

  • Allowances with Responsibility: If you give pocket money, encourage them to budget it between saving, spending, and giving.
  • Set Goals: Help them save for bigger items by breaking it into smaller, manageable goals.
  • Talk About Earning: Share how adults earn money by working and explain the concept of value exchange.

For Teens (Ages 13-18):

  • Banking Basics: Open a savings account for them and teach them how to manage it.
  • Budgeting Skills: Show them how to create a simple budget for their needs, wants, and savings.
  • Discuss Credit: Explain the importance of responsible borrowing and the potential pitfalls of debt.

Practical Tips for Parents

  1. Lead by Example: Children learn by watching, so demonstrate good financial habits. Show how you budget, save, and make purchasing decisions.
  2. Answer Questions Honestly: Be transparent about money. If they ask questions, provide truthful but age-appropriate answers.
  3. Use Real-Life Scenarios: A trip to the supermarket is a perfect opportunity to discuss price comparisons, discounts, and value for money.
  4. Introduce Financial Stories: Books and stories can make complex topics relatable. The Financial Fairy Tales series is an excellent resource to spark curiosity and teach essential lessons in a fun, engaging way.

Bring Money Lessons to Life with Stories

If you’re looking for creative ways to teach kids about money, the Financial Fairy Tales books are a fantastic option. Packed with inspiring stories, these books weave financial education into magical adventures, helping children grasp the basics of earning, saving, and making wise financial choices.

Check out the Financial Fairy Tales series on Amazon to start your child’s journey toward financial literacy.

Final Thoughts

Talking about money with kids doesn’t have to be complicated or intimidating. By starting early and using everyday opportunities to teach, you equip your children with the tools they need to manage money wisely throughout their lives. Remember, the lessons you share today will shape their financial confidence for tomorrow.

What are your favourite ways to talk about money with your kids? Share your tips in the comments below!

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Three Purses of Gold – Chapter One Preview

July 2nd, 2019 Posted in teaching children about money, the financial fairy tales
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To celebrate the launch of Three Purses of Gold, the 5th book in the Financial Fairy Tales series, we are delighted to share a preview of chapter one.

The Financial Fairy Tales Three Purses of Gold chapter 1 preview image

Once upon a time in the Land of Argent, there lived a merchant called Reuben and his three daughters.
Reuben made his living by sailing to far off lands and bringing back exotic things to sell. His cargos included strange fruits that no-one had ever tasted, fragrant spices and exotic coloured gems.
He typically made two or three such trips a year and was busily preparing for his latest voyage. His daughters always begged to go along and this time was no exception.

The youngest, Poppy, was particularly persuasive, pleading with her father and offering lots of reasons why she should go with him.
Despite providing many examples of how useful she could be, this time, like always, her father held firm.
“No, my loves”, he explained, “it will be a long and hazardous journey. We may be at sea for weeks. It’s much safer for you to stay at home with your Grandmother”.
“But Grandma makes us do housework every day”, protested Rose the middle daughter.
“And she makes us go to bed before dark”, moaned Lily the eldest.
“Now, now girls, don’t complain. You will stay with Grandma and be good. She loves taking care of you”. Then, after a pause, he added,
“I’ll make you a deal. While I am away, whichever one of you wins my
challenge can come on the next trip”.
“Great!” Shouted all three girls together, “What’s the challenge? How do we win?”

As much as they loved each other, the sisters never missed an opportunity to be competitive.
“I will tell you all about it in the morning” said their father, “but now it’s time for bed.”
Reluctantly, and with a grumble and a groan, they each gave their father a kiss before going upstairs.
Reuben smiled proudly as he watched them go whilst thinking
what a lucky man he was.

The next morning over breakfast, the girls chatted excitedly about what the challenge might be and who was going to win.
Reuben began to explain the rules.
“I am going to give each of you a purse with twelve gold coins”, he
began.
The girls gasped; that was quite a lot of money.
“But”, their father said, raising his hand for quiet, “I will expect you to give it back upon I return. What you decide to do with it, is up to you. Any profit you make will be yours to keep. The winner will be the one who makes the most, and she will come on my next trip”.
With that, he produced three red velvet purses, each tied with a gold thread.
Reuben playfully weighed them in his hand before passing one to each of his daughters.

The Financial Fairy Tales: Three Purses of Gold chapter 1 illustration

Later that day, they all embraced at the dockside before Reuben boarded his ship. The girls ran along the harbour wall to wave for as long as they could, before the wind caught the sales and the ship headed out to sea. Gradually getting smaller and smaller in the distance, until it became just a tiny speck on the horizon.

If you enjoyed this except please feel free to share with your friends and follow us on Facebook to be the first to hear about the special launch offer.

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Mastermind Groups, Audiobooks and Serendipity

January 4th, 2019 Posted in dreams can come true, Entrepreneurship, financial education, free financial education resources, goals, the financial fairy tales
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You may have heard of mastermind groups and their potential for elevating your business and personal success. I first became aware of the potential power of masterminds through the iconic book – Think and Grow Rich. Where the success secrets of many of the world’s highest achievers were distilled by author Napoleon Hill.

Mastermind Groups, Audiobooks and Serendipity - power of masterminds image

Mastermind groups work by focusing the combined skills and experience of their members to solve challenges being faced by individuals. In Think and Grow Rich it was reported that Andrew Carnegie, then the richest man in the world, met regularly with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison among others.

After reading the book I was keen to find and participate in a mastermind group to draw upon the collective wisdom with a focus on my financial education business which I had recently started. Here’s where the first serendipity occurred. Shortly after having the thought I received an email from David Ricklan at SelfGrowth.com announcing that they were launching mastermind groups for people in the personal development industry. I eagerly applied and after some time was even asked if I would like to facilitate a group.

While the group memberships were being put together, I began thinking about the first challenge I could bring to my group. I had recently published my first book in the Financial Fairy Tales series, Dreams Can Come True and I was very interested in exploring an audiobook version. I could imagine for example; the book being playing in the car on the school run.

The first member of my particular mastermind group was an American lady currently living in Japan. During our initial conversation we discussed her goals and plans and how the group could support her. When we tasked about my desire for an audiobook I was amazed to hear that not only was she a voice actor, but also had a friend who was a Grammy award winning musician who she could ask to provide original music.

Within a few weeks she had produced a fantastic audiobook version of Dreams Can Come True which has been downloaded and enjoyed by hundreds if not thousands of children and parents around the world.

Dreams can come true cover image

For me this story illustrates the power of our intentions and the reward for taking action. I am sure many of us have experiences synchronicities such as these which occur when we listen to and act upon our intuition.

If you feel curious about listening to the Dreams Can Come True audiobook then we have a few coupons allowing a free download from audible. Please comment below with you email address or get in touch via our social media pages and I can send you a unique discount code.

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Helping Kids Learn About Money

December 23rd, 2018 Posted in financial literacy, teaching children about money, teaching kids about money
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Has there ever been a more important time to help our kids learn about money? Record levels of student debt, lack of financial education in schools, unconscious spending through apps and games plus the movement towards a cashless society are all compelling reasons.

Did you know that research has shown many of our values and beliefs around money are formed by the age of 7?
This means that as adults, our money decisions are being heavily influenced by the ideas we picked up as kids, whether helpful, or for many a hindrance.

The Financial Fairy Tales are a fun way to introduce money ideas and tools from an early age. Concepts such as saving, investment, budgets and entrepreneurship are explored though stories set in a fairy tale world.

The Financial Fairy Tales Patreon - helping kids learn about money
The first 3 Financial Fairy Tales stories and Activity Book

We have big plans for 2019 and beyond which includes 3 new story books, more learning activities and an animation series. Above all we want to help more kids around the world grow up with a better understanding of money by providing the skills, tools and beliefs which will empower them now and in the future.

How You Can Help

By becoming a supporter through Patreon, you can help us continue our work in creating these stories and learning activities. Patreon is a website and platform where people just like you can choose to support creative and artistic projects – whilst getting lots of cool benefits for yourself.

Visit the Financial Fairy Tales Patreon page and help us to help more kids learn about money.

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Learning about Money- the Financial A, B, Cs

November 21st, 2017 Posted in learning about money
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When it comes to learning about money there is so much information that it is challenging to know where to start. That is no excuse however for burying your head in the sand and making money someone else’s responsibility.

This simple guide outlines a few essential money principals.

Learning the financial abcs of money - chalkboard image

A is for Awareness

Typically people know how much they earn. Whether it’s by the week, month or hour, you know how much you earn and notice when something is different. But what about the other side of the equation? Do you know how much you spend?

Lack of awareness of spending can lead you to run out of cash, go overdrawn or rely on credit cards. Each of these has financial consequences. Being in charge of your money gives you a sense of wellbeing and control. A good place to start is by checking your bank statement, either online or a paper version. Go through line by line, can you identify each item? Many people find things they do not recognise or regular payments which they had forgotten about such as subscriptions. Maybe you accepted a trial offer which now is being charged?

Another example of awareness is being conscious over small regular amounts which you might spend every day. If you spent for example £5 a day on lunch, that may equate to over £1000 during a year. Would it be worth making a sandwich or salad at home and have £1000 for a holiday or other purpose?

B is for Budget

For many, Budget is a four letter word, but it need not be a negative. Taking a few minutes to plan what you are going to spend is a great step to putting you in control of your money and not the other way around. You can set a budget for any area of your life including fun and socialising. Many people find that by setting aside money for fun purposes means they can enjoy it more and be free of any guilt that they should be saving or spending the money elsewhere.

Setting a budget is a really simple task. Take a few minutes to list all the areas in which you spend money, then put your best estimate of the amount you currently spend next to it. When you add up the figures hopefully the total will be less than you earn. If not you will need to adjust the spending until it does. While you are feeling virtuous why not include a category for saving and reward yourself with a fun or play budget which you have to spend each month.

C is for Compound Interest

Einstein described compound interest as the eighth wonder of the world. The trouble is that it can work for you or against you. If you are paying interest on loans or credit cards the power of compound interest is increasing the debt and draining your current and future income.

If you have an outstanding balance on a credit card and just pay the minimum percentage each month it may take over 20 years to clear the debt! If you are only able to pay a fraction each month, make sure you are paying a fixed money amount rather than the percentage sometimes offered when you take out the card.

With interest so low at the time of writing there may seem like little incentive to save. This may be true in terms of financial gain from the savings alone, but the accumulated money saved can eventually be invested and grow at a better rate. The habit of saving money and living on less than 100% of your income is the important financial gain. http://credit-n.ru/offers-zaim/4slovo-bystrye-zaymi-online.html

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