Top 10: Ways to Teach Kids about Money

Personal Finance Picture Book Series for Kids

This list (slightly paraphrased) is from Dr. Prakash Dheeriya, a professor of finance, who is the author of the Finance for Kidz series that teaches kids about money management, personal finance and planning for the future.

1. Compensate your kids for extraordinary effort or work.
2. Don’t reward them with money for ding what a child is supposed to do.
3. Every moment with your child is a teachable moment: grocery shopping, changing price of gas etc.  Talk to them about how supply and demand sets gas prices, for example.
4. Use grocery shopping to teach them about commerce.  Let them buy a single item like cereal to learn to decide, purchase, and count change.
5. Use grocery shopping, again, to teach comparison shopping.
6. Use grocery shopping to show the value of coupons.  Show them the value of buying in bulk, shopping at garage sales and flea markets.
7. Have your child open a savings account at a bank and to track their deposits and withdrawals.  (My kids are fascinated by the concept of interest).
8. When paying at a restaurant, ask the kids how the meal should be paid: credit card, cash or check.  Talk about the pros and cons of using a credit card.
9. Talk to your kids about identity theft and the importance of protecting personal information from strangers.  This can be done while completing a school application form, writing a check or paying for toys at a toy store.
10. Explain to your children that money is just a tool and they don’t need it to make them happy.  It is a means to an end and not the ultimate goal in life.  Teach them the values associated with sharing, recycling and caring for others and the environment.

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