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4 useful strategies to teach children about money

Many parents do not know the right age to start teaching children about money.
Financial education may seem an abstract concept, which surpasses the children if they are very young, especially when they have to learn so much more practical things.
In addition, once they reach a certain age, anything you try to tell them comes into one ear and comes out to the other.
Is there a perfect age at which children are able to understand financial concepts and are receptive to what family members have to say?
Or do you just have to leave the kids on their on and wait for them to make the same financial mistakes?
In fact, it is possible to start financial education for children at a surprisingly young age, and they are able to be receptive to what you are learning indefinitely, as long as everyone attending sees these lessons as fun.

Pink piggy bank

Here are 4 helpful strategies to teach children about money and personal finances:

1. Teach them by the power of the example

Parents have the power to invoke parental authority when it comes to money, but even children can figure out whether you are credible or not. If it is clear to you that you are not making proper decisions about your own money, how can you expect to teach them how to spend their money correctly?
In essence, transparency and sincerity are the best solutions: call the children to look at when you pay your bills, when making other bank payments or directing some money to your investments.
This works especially for younger children who still have the impression that everything their parents do is very interesting.

2. Give them an age-appropriate allowance

No matter how smart some children are, until they do not have money in hand and will not use them to buy things, money will remain for them an abstract notion.
That’s why it’s important to start giving your children a small allowance, age-appropriate, as soon as you’re sure they can learn the money concept.
You can even make the allowance in a shared account with your child. As cash is being used less and less, young people will have to learn the concept of debit card and virtual wallets anyway.
You can also condition the receipt of the entire allowance to perform certain tasks in the house.

3. Eliminate the wrong spending decisions

It is useful to let the children make their own financial mistakes, but to a certain point.
If you start to feel that they really do not know what they are doing or do they make misleading purchases just to defy you, stop them by invoking the abovementioned parental authority.
Explain this by understanding why it is very important to reasonably think about every financial decision you make.
You can help them by providing them with an age-appropriate educational game, such as Monopoly, for example.

4. If in doubt, let them work

Sure, this is not an option for those children who are small or very small. For teenagers, however, a part-time summer job can have a very positive influence and can significantly increase their financial intelligence.
Moving from zero income (or a modest allowance) to a real salary, even if small, earned at a job in the local supermarket, for example, is extremely important.
Just make sure you provide them with the necessary job search support. They will thank you later.

Why is it important to have a financial education?

Financial education refers to having a set of knowledge to help you effectively manage not just your spendings but also your investments. Few of us take into account practices that make you more thoughtful with your monthly budget and so forget to allocate certain capital and resources to areas of their life that require more attention. However, the general public tends to be reticent to complex financial terms and overlooks the fact that a preventive attitude is more effective than solving problems. Read about how this attitude can help you in the next lines.

Make a balance sheet and solve urgent issues

First of all, you need to figure out what your current situation is: give yourself an hour or two and identify your sources of incomes and spendings this month. You would be surprised to find out how much money you’re spending in things you do not really need. The next step is to figure out the urgent issues to which more capital must be allocated. For example, if your home has problems with the water installation and you do not have money for the moment, we recommend you take a microcredit. Especially when you have a stable income and your problems have to be solved, the smartest one prevents even greater damage by dealing with it as quickly as you can.

Smartly avoid future spendings

Once you’ve made the balance to see your immediate incomes and expenses, you have to focus on spending on what you can actively optimize. Specifically, this means replacing objects or habits that consume money with some more economical one’s. Imagine that you have a plot of 100 hectars planted with corn and must be harvested in the next 2 weeks. Instead of using a modified tractor that you already have and consuming 30 liters of diesel per hectare, you better buy a new machine.

More opportunities for your development

One of the most common and inefficient practices is not to invest money in your own person. Especially if you set up, for example, certain professional goals based on learning a new set of abilities, you should take advantage of this opportunity as soon as possible. The ability to weld various metals and alloys of different compositions under the water is one of the most lucrative jobs, but to get it you need an expensive intensive course. All you have to do is invest in yourself to get the accreditation of a professional welder and that will help you in the long run.

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