One of the most valuable things you can give your kids is a solid education. For my kids that includes lessons in money and investing – lucky them.
My eldest son’s first official money lesson was actually shared with his class after they heard at school that I was “famous because of money “. (One YouTube video means you’re on the internet and hence famous).
Starting with the basics.
We agreed that:
- the most fun name for money is “schpondooley”
- people using shells for money in the olden days was crazy
- everyone wants more pocket money
Moving on to the bigger ticket items
We talked about:
What to do with pocket money – do you spend it all straight away or save it all? On balance we agreed that a good idea would be to save it up for a bit so you could buy bigger cooler stuff rather than buying stuff that will just clutter their rooms.
How we pay for things. The most common answer was that parents “tap with the card”. The fascinating part was to ask what does that do. There was outrage when I said that tapping that card lets the shop take money from your bank account.
Borrowing money – Consensus was quickly reached that it should be “against the rules and the law” to have to pay someone back $12 if you had only borrowed $10.
The most important piece in all of this is setting the foundations of their understanding. I want my kids to know that money is a tool – hard to earn, easy to lose, but if used wisely can bring enjoyment.
Pocket money, as with all money, is there to be enjoyed, but there is merit in saving it up for really cool stuff.
Debt and payment plans may not be “against the rules and the law”, but it certainly is a good idea to avoid them wherever possible.
And finally, just maybe we should consider renaming the dollar the Schpondooley.
Consider the importance of teaching your children early on about how to value money.
What is the most valuable money lesson you have taught your kids?