When do you start teaching your children about personal finance?

1. 87

   GinnyLeeposted 12 years ago

   When do you start teaching your children about personal finance?

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2. 75

   alphagirlposted 12 years ago

   I started s soon as they could stick a quarter in the gum ball machine! It is an open subject for me! I want my girls aware of how debt can be bad! ESP charge debt!that isn't to say they understand! They definitely spend mom and dads money freely!
   My girls do chores ! Some are paid! I hate dusting! They are old enough to babysit and they save some of that!
   Eventually it sinks in! I m hoping that by senior year they know not to charge what they want and to save cash up buy!

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3. 81

   jacqui2011posted 12 years ago

   I started teaching my daughter about personal finance when she was 8 years old. She is 11 years old and I give her pocket money each week for doing little chores - keeping her bedroom tidy, putting her laundry away and setting the table. Her grandparents in Scotland send her money each month.
   
   She is quite good at saving her money and never spends it all. On Saturday she had £300 saved and was able to buy herself a laptop. She was a bit disappointed that her savings are now sitting at £5, but she is determined to save up again. I was so proud of the fact that she had saved hard for a whole year to buy something that she really wanted.
   
   We try to teach her that money has to be earned, and savings are important to buy things that you want. She is very sensible about money and would never squander it all on items she doesn't need. This should stand her in good stead for the future.

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4. 69

   buckleupdorothyposted 12 years ago

   My parents gave us a small allowance (adjusted for seniority) from the time we were 7 and 9, or maybe a little earlier. My parents impressed on us that we could do what we wanted with it, but that they were not going to be buying candy or comic books anymore - if we wanted it, we needed to make that choice and use our own money.
   
   My brother was always better at saving than I was - and bought things like skittles that he could really make last a long time. Drove me crazy.
   
   In any case, I didn't really learn much about how to manage money until I started babysitting and actually had some. The choice between candy now or a comic book next week wasn't much of a choice - but with babysitting money I was expected to finance any impractical wardrobe wants, movie tickets, etc. I think the trick to teaching kids how to manage their money is to wait until they have something worth saving for - like a trip or a laptop. It wasn't until I had that kind of goal that I learned how to earmark money for a specific planned purchase, some for saving and some for pizza with friends.
   
   Oh, and my parents definitely had to reassure me when I finally did make any big purchases - watching hard-earned savings dwindle like that all at once was pretty rough.
   
   It got easier with practice, unfortunately...

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5. 57

   Kratika24posted 12 years ago

   I guess it's something that should be taught since childhood. A child must know the importance of money so that he could spend it in a good manner. My parents never gave pocket money. Whenever i needed money they provided me. Sometimes mum told me to wait but sooner or later i got it. (They always asked me the purpose if they thought its for some use they gave me or else they told me that its a waste of money i shouldn't do that...)
   I believe that its not about getting money daily or monthly its about using that money in a correct manner. Moreover when a child knows about the pros and corns of a particular thing, there's no need to teach him. All he wants is a guidance that can give him fruitful results.

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6. 60

   T. R. Brownposted 12 years ago

   I started teaching basic economic concepts at about age 7.  I know that most of it won't take, but I believe that beginning early will help build a foundation.

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7. 60

   Dear Godposted 12 years ago

   The sooner the better, my children started out about age 4 or 5 with simple things like helping to match sox, and picking up toys for an allowance.  Children need to know not only the value of spending their money, but also that it does not come to them for free.  I felt that if they "earned” their money doing small chores, they would spend it less frivolously.  They are all grown up now.  I think that it did some good.

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8. 52

   msherrettposted 12 years ago

   I think this starts once your child gets $ for teeth which come and then they start to get an allowance.  He/she decides with your help how to use $.  The allowance goes up with age.  Once a child gets a paying job, he/she still needs help deciding how to spend $, but is more on their own to do so.  (By 15 my youngest son had a part time job and he has worked part time or full time ever since, except during the summers in his HS years and after he was done with HS.)  They learn I think on their own the price of clothes, shoes, CDs, laptops and iPads.

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9. 71

   Ciel Clarkposted 12 years ago

   As soon as they start asking for things in stores.  Figure out about the amount you spend on things they want (not need) and give them that in allowance.  When my son was about ten years old, that was about $20 per month.  Once he had to decide if it was worth spending his own money on a particular item... he started saving! 
   Now when we are at the store and he wants something, I tell him,  "You have money, get it if you want it!"  90% of the time he decides he doesn't really want it..  The other times I let him get whatever weird (in my opinion) thing that he has really been coveting.

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