This post was underwritten by BMO Harris Bank, which offers a matching $25 on a new savings account opened for your child through their Helpful Steps for Parents program. Learn more at bmoharris.com/parents.
Kids & Money, Saving & Spending
Many of the best lessons in life are learned as a child, while having fun. It’s why we’d easily memorize lyrics to our favorite songs but struggle mightily with the periodic table in science class. It’s just not that fun, and really hard to sing.
Teaching your young kids about budgeting and making sound fiscal decisions might sound as tedious as formatting a spreadsheet but it doesn’t have to be when you minimize Excel and play shopkeeper!
It’s important to teach kids about the value of money, not just what you can do with it, but that you must also make choices about how to wisely use what you’ve got. When I play store with my daughters I see that it helps them prioritize and begin thinking about the consequences of foolish spending. That’s right – I dish out some of my wisest personal personal-finance lessons surrounded by stuffed animals, pretend food, and phony money.
Despite the sheer volume of stuff in the house (hey I can’t help it, we get a lot of swag to review!), I strive to instill in my daughters an understanding that you cannot have it all. There is, after all, a finite amount of money most of us have at any given moment (no, giant credit card company, that was not an invitation to begin soliciting my children about the joys of revolving debt; credit cards and borrowing discussions are intentionally being saved for when they’re a tad older – thank you very much).
What we do around here, and we do it often, is set up an elaborate pretend general store – books, produce, tutus, plush snuggle friends, I sell it all! Then, I give my daughters some pretend cash and role-play through different situations. During one trip through my establishment (locally-owned, of course), they might be tasked with buying gifts for family members. Another visit could be spent shopping for something fun for themselves. In both instances they’ve gotta ask how much each item costs and decide if they have enough or if they have to come back after saving up a little longer. Sometimes, instead of yet another toy, they’ll opt to hold onto some of their dollars to use at Dad’s fictional ice-cream shop – because that’s important too from time to time!
These lessons have yielded interesting real-life results. When my oldest gal needed a pillow and blanket for school, she had a choice to make. The first pillow she picked, she adored. It cost $16. There was another, just-as-cool pillow on sale for $8. She had a firm $15-$20 budget, which she knew going into the store. If she selected the cheaper pillow, there was a very comfy matching blanket she could afford, also on sale for $8. If she went with the pricier one, her old blanket would be accompanying her to school. The choice was hers, and hers alone.
Playing store is one of my girls’ all-time favorite games. I truly believe it’s one of the reasons they rarely ever whine for things when we shop together. After all, they know what it’s like to be short some coin, thanks to shopping in our own living room.
*I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. To learn more about BMO Harris Bank, visit their website http://bmoharris.com/parents.
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