How to Teach Your Children to Save Money

Life is difficult. Nothing is free anymore these days except the air we breathe. Everything else needs to be paid – shelter, food, water, clothing, education, health, and sometimes influence. As if that wasn’t bad enough, earning is getting more and more difficult. We have no choice but to save money.

Money is one of the many reasons why less people are getting married, and those who do so marry at later age. Having a family is very expensive. Married couples with kids are in constant dilemma between giving in to their kids’ wants and saving money for the future. When not given what they want, some kids may throw tantrums. Kids are not natural savers. They do not understand yet the difficulty of earning money and the need to save money for the future. It can be quite hard to grasp the meaning of “future” for their young minds. However, saving money can be learned. Teaching kids to save money is something we should put on top of our list. But how do we do it?

I grew up in a middle class family. Money was quite tight. I was taught to save money and I grew up into a stingy adult. I can’t help but feel bad for the parents of kids who don’t understand the value of money. I have seen a kid dressed up so well and owned a cellphone more high-tech than mine, only to find out that he’s a son of a tricycle driver (tricycle drivers live from hand to mouth and are considered poor in my country). However, even his parents didn't know how to save money. I’ve seen a teenager who would take her younger sister’s hong bao just to buy branded clothes for herself. How could her younger sister save money for herself? Although these kids can be annoying, parents are to be blamed for not teaching them to save money and for constantly giving in to their demands.

I have come up with saving money tips which are purely based on my own experience and those of people around me, as I do not have my own kids yet. However, I would like to stress that being stingy is not really something to be proud of. The quality of my things and even my health sometimes suffer because of it. Still, I hope you will learn something here. Enjoy my tips, be inspired, or even make you own saving money list from my list.

1. Teach them not to be too brand conscious. Quality is important, but not the brand itself. Don’t give them the impression that the brand of their outfit is important. It is true that status is usually determined by what you wear. You tend to judge people you do not know base on their appearance . There are folks who would do anything just to own designer clothes to make themselves appear that they belong in the higher status. But most of the time, it only works for people who do not know them well. To people who know them well, they will appear “trying too hard” and people will tend to look down on them. On the other hand, there are people, especially the really rich ones, who can wear the cheapest clothes or even fake brands but others will still think that they’re wearing original brands just because they’re rich. In short, people you know are aware of your status and people you do not know well will eventually know. Whatever brand you wear won’t make you look richer. Just opt for the quality.

2. Tell them your financial problems. Or at least let them be aware of your financial status. Tell them daddy and mommy are trying to make ends meet, and your family is not like the rich ones. Let them know that what you earn may not be enough for the future if you don’t save money. Kids would be sympathetic and would start saving money.

3. Don’t let your kids think you're a superman. Giving them more means you’ll have to work harder and longer. Your mere human body won’t take it. Show them you do get tired. Tell them daddy’s tired and he needs a massage. Cook a delicious dinner with your kids for mommy and tell them mommy has been working hard and deserves a rest. Let them realize that your body has its physical limits.

4. Teach them to love their things. Remember the doll named Nancy whom you shared your bed with in your entire childhood years? Or your toy car named Peter whom you used to be inseparable with? Nothing can make you love your things more than believing they were alive. Giving names to inanimate objects is one way. Call their bag Lizzie, their pen Penny, and their shoes Footsie. But that would sound insane. Another alternative would be to let your kids watch Toy Story. They will love the movie and will learn to take care of their things. Most kids who love their things are good at saving money (like me!).

5. Teach them to be self-sufficient. If you are successful in teaching them to love their things, teaching this will be a breeze. They won’t feel the need to buy new things most of the time, and they will be contented with what they already have (why would they buy another pair of shoes if they already have Footsie?). You will eventually realize that you're starting to save more money!

6. Let your kids have the smaller bedrooms. If you’ve just moved in into a new home with six rooms, don’t choose the biggest rooms possible for your kids. Choose smaller rooms instead. Staying in small bedrooms means that they can only store enough things. They will be discouraged to buy new things, as they won’t have enough space for them, and they will learn to be self-sufficient.

7. Give them a piggy bank. This will make saving money more fun. They will be amazed to see their coins accumulate, and they would realize that it takes time to fill up Piggy.

8. Don’t laugh at other people’s clothes. Not in front of your kids. If it’s in your nature to laugh at others because of the clothes they wear, at least laugh when your kids are not looking. If you’re following tip#1, you will only contradict yourself by making fun of others’ outfit. Teach your kids to dress well and to look presentable, but be nice to others who wear cheap clothes or silly-looking outfits. Who knows, maybe their saving money, too!

9. Let them watch inspiring movies (or TV shows) about poor people. Let them watch Little Princess, Little Women, or Pursuit of Happyness. They’ll see how poor people cope with poverty, or how they turned rich. This will inspire them to save money.

10. Bring them shopping. Let your kids accompany you to grocery stores, hardware stores, etc. Most kids nowadays aren’t aware of how much things cost. When they go shopping with you, they’ll see how much you buy for home and how much they cost. If you’re good at budgeting, they’ll learn it from you, too. Moreover, they will realize that there are much more expenses at home than they had thought.

11. When your kid is sad, don’t go shopping with him. My classmate in college flunked in one of his subjects. He was so upset that he called one of his parents. I overheard that his parent would later pick him up to go shopping with him. If you are poor or is saving money for something, this is one of the things that you should not do as a parent. There are other inexpensive activities that you can do to cheer up your kid. Play basketball with him, watch a movie together, or cook him a delicious meal. After that, don’t forget to ground him for failing.

12. Teach you kids these saving money tips.

One of my professors told us that she would quit her job when she had her own kids. She wanted to be a full-time mom and be able to give 100% of her attention to her kids. She said that even if she had become successful in her career, she would still feel like a failure if she wasn’t able to teach her kids well (thus, the late marriage again). Nothing will make a parent happier than having mature, unselfish, and sensible kids. Provide the best upbringing to your kids, and you will thank yourself for that.

© 2011 cheerfulnuts

Do you have any great tips about teaching kids to save money? Don't hesitate to share it!