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Teaching Children How to Save Money

By Autumn Lockwood

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 08Feb2012 Word count: 1557 Viewed: 101 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Teaching children about the value of money at an early age is one of the best things you can do to help them learn how to save. Especially in today's challenging economic climate, learning how to budget and save money is one of the most valuable skills you can teach your children. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways that you can make learning about budgeting and saving fun for your child. Here are some easy tips you can use to teach your child how to save while also having a good time.

Create a Chore Chart

Most children find it easier to learn about the value of money if they actually earn the money themselves. Although some people disagree with the practice of giving a child an allowance in exchange for performing chores around the home, it can actually be a good way for a child to learn about money. Additionally, performing small age-appropriate chores can help give a child a sense of contributing to the household, while learning about responsibility. You can help make chores more fun for your child by making them a chore chart. Design a weekly chart that will allow you to list daily or weekly chores which your child can mark off when complete. You can assign a small monetary value to each completed chore, or simply give your child a set allowance for each week that all chores are complete. You might be surprised at how quickly your child will complete his or her chores so they can be marked off the chart. If your child is saving money towards a specific goal, such as a toy he or she really wants, displaying a few photos in a fun photo frame near the chore chart can help provide a bit of added incentive.

Open a Savings Account for Your Child

Opening a savings account for your child can also help get them excited about the concept of saving money. Some banks even have special savings plans designed for children. Depositing their allowance in a savings account each week can make a child feel quite "grown-up." Additionally, by having the money in the bank, they will be less tempted to spend it on frivolous treats, making it a good way to reinforce good savings habits.

Set a Goal

Although there is a lot of value in simply saving money, you can also teach your child about budgeting by allowing them to spend a portion of their savings on something they really want. Ideally, it should be something that will require your child to save their money over at least several weeks. Once your child saves up enough money to buy what they want, celebrate with a shopping trip to go purchase it, allowing them to actually pay for the item at the checkout. Take a few photos of your child with their purchased item so that they can display them in their room in unique orange picture frames (or whatever color your child chooses). Of course, occasionally your child might save their money towards a certain goal, only to change their mind and decide to keep saving instead of spending. If your child makes this decision, be sure to applaud their newfound ability to budget and save.

You may be surprised when you see how excited your child can get about saving money and doing it well.

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