We’re coming upon the biggest retail season of the year…with plenty of opportunities for kids to get “the gimmes.” If you’re feeling like your kids’ ATM and dispensing cash for entertainment, snacks, gifts or trinkets, why not use those “Dad, can I have…” moments for mini-money lessons?
Handing over money for the “want of the day,” maybe a quick solution, but perhaps it’s time to have your kids make some of their own choices about spending. That might mean allotting some money – no strings attached.
Kids don’t have to handle large amounts—whether it’s your money or theirs—to get plenty of financial experience. Even those seemingly insignificant financial choices give kids of all ages a better chance to succeed with important ones later.
Kids who manage money for their own wants/needs often don’t spend as much. And they often make different buying decisions. Suddenly those name-brand shoes aren’t a “must have.”
Do you dismiss those small and relatively unimportant choices, like…
- Choosing a name brand snack over a less expensive store or regional brand?
- Buying a $3 water and leaving the nearly full bottle in your seat at the game?
- Buying a few $1.99 mobile apps that get little use?
- Developing a nightly takeout habit?
- Not bending down to pick up a nickel or dime off the ground?
- Leaving coins at the concession counter so you don’t have heavy coins in your pocket?
- Not putting part of a small paycheck into a savings account – because it isn’t earning much interest anyway?
Choices quickly become habits, habits become a lifestyle….that usually lasts a lifetime. Take a few minutes this holiday season to help your kids develop a saving mentality, no matter how small the amounts.
Just like spending habits, good savings habits are hard to break. Which do you want to cultivate?