Do your kids groan when you try to convince them to save part of their allowance? Do your children spend money as fast as they get it? If you answered, “yes,” to either of these questions, it’s time for you to spend some time teaching your kids about the joy of saving money. By learning to be a saver now, you can help your children grow up to become fiscally responsible adults who will never have to struggle with their finances.
Teaching your kids to save can be a fun, growing experience for you and them. Although there are a myriad of ways to teach this all-too-important lesson, here are a few to get you started:
Race to the Savings – Give each child in your household a jar of the same size and shape. Then, challenge the kids to fill his or her jar as quickly as possible. Let the kids be resourceful about finding extra change for their jar. One child might offer to do extra chores around the house for pocket change. Another may decide to mow the neighbor’s yard for some extra money. When someone completely fills his jar, make a big production of announcing the winner, award him an appropriate prize, and start over again.
Match Exceptional Savings – Help your kids save to a goal by giving them an extra incentive. For instance, if little Bobby is saving for a new bike, you could offer to match him dollar for dollar after he reaches $40. He’ll be grateful for the help making his big purchase and you’ll still get to help him achieve his goal. Be sure to stand firm with your stipulation that he reaches his goal first; don’t fund the match until he has $40 (or whatever goal is suitable) in his savings.
Dream Big – Your kids can learn how to plan for their spending by creating their own “Dream List.” Guide your children through creating a list of five things they would buy if they had the money. Try to help them stay away from more expensive items for their first list, since long-term saving might be a little discouraging at first. Encourage your children, then, to save until they can afford something from their list. You might even take the time to explain to the kids that this is exactly the kid of planning Mom and Dad do when they’re trying to plan for extra spending like vacations, new furniture, or birthday presents.
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I believe that once children have learned how to count, that is the perfect time for you teach them the real meaning of money. You should be consistent and explain to them in simple ways and do this frequently so that they may be able to remember what you taught them. Always explain to them the value of saving money. Make them understand its importance and how it will impact their life. It is important that you entertain questions from them about money and you should be able to answer them right away.
Reusing materials to make art and crafts is a fun way to teach kids about saving money. I’m an artist and educator who backed into the reuse and recycle thing when I was teaching elementary art. My principal cut my budget from $1,000 to $250 per semester, so I resorted to using trash or solid waste as art materials. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it made me more resourceful and it stretched the kids’ imaginations, too.
In 1996, I launched The Imagination Factory, and since then, millions of people have visited, looking for inexpensive art ideas or ways to encourage kids to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Some of the activities include drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, paper mache, marbling, and crafts.
A Trash Matcher links visitors with appropriate art activities that use the solid waste they have available, and a feature called the Badge Matcher allows Brownies, Girl Scouts and their leaders to quickly locate projects that help satisfy badge requirements. I hope you’ll visit us at http://www.kid-at-art.com/.