You have always told your child drawing, colouring and painting is an art. Have you ever told your
Do you ever wish you had known more about handling money from your childhood? Most of us even graduated from our colleges without having the faintest idea of balancing bank accounts or managing money. Well, that is how our education system has been designed. Kids are taught how to study well for professional courses, but they won't be taught about the main idea of a profession, money!
Money and children never go in one line because of the kind of taboo that is around our society. Even schools don't talk about financial management. I've always wondered why can't we, as an education system, upgrade our concepts to make it more relevant to the current world! We've seen people fail in handling money the moment they finish their professional courses and get into jobs. But if schools can't upgrade to teach Financial Management to kids, if schools can't tell kids that money is not the root of all evil but how they use the money is, what can be done? I say, you as a parent, start teaching your kids handling money, so that when they grow up, they aren't just knowledgeable, but also wise!
I have always believed that the best education, we as parents, can impart to our children is to teach them to lead their life independently! However, to achieve this, we must get out of a few taboos ourselves! Firstly, it is okay to let kids handle money! If you've taught them the right ways of handling money, there's nothing to be insecure of! Secondly, tell them that earning money is important! Because the people around will never encourage your kids to earn money, instead they will only be told how earning more money makes one bad (Though it makes no sense!)!
People learn and then get to earning, and they stop learning. Few people stop learning, and start earning. Why is it difficult to learn while you earn and earn while you learn? We have a four year old kid earning 70 crore just by reviewing toys on YouTube! Such is the trend today! So clear your mind of all social taboos, unlearn a lot of stuff, and start teaching your kids financial management!
You don't have to start big! Start small, because it is the tiny learnings that make huge differences! Here are a few ways on how you can subtly teach your kids managing the finances!
Ask them to save money in a jar!
This is a great idea which will instill the importance of savings in your children's minds! While piggy bank has always remained classic, it won't offer any visual motivation to your kids. You could rather use a clear jar so they can see how their savings are increasing everyday! Make them realise things actually cost money!
I've seen parents saying stuff like, "I've provided all that my child wants, and I've never made him feel deprived of anything!" It is a very dangerous thing! Kids should understand the fact that stuff cost money. You keep getting them everything they want without them realizing what you're paying for it, is a dangerous thing for their future! When they don't get what they want without realizing it's value, they will be left heartbroken. I suggest you let them know what you are paying for that you your child asked you. You could get the child to hand the money to the vendor as well. This will be an inadvertent form of telling them, "You've got to pay for what you want!"
Tell them a no, or come to a compromise!
If your child is demanding something that is very expensive, you can be firm about your denial. Mind you, be firm while saying a no, and not strict! Can't tell the difference? Pick up the A+ Discovery Kit where I've talked extensively about how to communicate with your child so that they listen! Firmly say a no, and give them the reason of the thing being expensive! You could also negotiate a deal. For instance, tell them that if they want the Xbox, they will have to understand that there won't be money left for the pair of shoes they wanted. This will tell them that their decisions are going to have consequences!
Don't just give them allowances for their petty expenses. Also offer them commissions. These commissions could be based on how well they clean their bed room or how often they take out the trash. The point here is to let them know that they will get more money if they work more!
Trust me when I say this, a kid who's been taught in such ways to handle money, will excel in financial managemen
