Written by Kodie Axelsen
Unfortunately our schooling system isn’t too savvy in the financial education department. Given that, I believe it is our jobs as parents to start teaching our children the fundamentals of money, how it is made and how it works.
I’m sure most parents can agree that children nowadays believe it grows on trees and you just swipe that piece of plastic and it is paid for. It’s our duty as parents to explain the worth of money that it isn’t as easy as just tap and pay.
I personally break down the cost of living with my children so they understand that the house we live in costs money, the car we drive costs money and that light you left on all day, yep that also costs money.
They need to understand the basis of money and how it is earned. Whether you are business minded or work for someone I think it is a great foundation for children to learn that to earn money you need to put the work in. That is where it starts.
Whether it is a million dollar idea or it is a job at Macca’s, there is still an exertion of energy and thought required to start the funds flowing. Once you get the funds it is then learning how to spend them wisely. If you have a goal then I find it is easier to save your funds to achieve that goal. When there is no carrot dangling at the end then they can wonder why they are supposed to put their money aside when they could be buying that new Pokemon card with it.
Once they start connecting the dots and learning about cashflow it becomes quite a fun exercise. If they don’t do their jobs properly then chances are they won’t get paid or I’ll certainly let them know if they worked for me they’d have been fired by now. It also teaches them responsibility.
When they have money in their hands you can watch them process their thoughts on whether they’re prepared to spend all that money on that ‘thing’ they want to buy because they know what they had to do to get it. They then start to learn the actual worth of it. It becomes tangible.
I was as excited as hell when my son put something back because he just did not think it was worth his time and effort for what he had to do to buy it. He is the saver and the mathematician.
My daughter on the other hand is happy for me to fire her because she hates her jobs. Unfortunately in our household that is a part of her contribution to our family so her jobs are sticking. Welcome to resilience haha!
I love money, I respect its worth and I want my children to grow up knowing that it can provide them with a fantastic lifestyle if they treat it well. If they spend it well it can also provide them with passive income to build the lifestyle they choose to live but that is a choice that is theirs to make.
Please don’t ever discount the value of financial education. In a world that is built on credit and borrowing what you don’t have, there is no better time that now to build a strong financial foundation in the minds of our young ones.
Side note… I invite all parents that want to educate their children financially to please reach out if in need. I am more than happy to provide some basic info to get started.
Happy money making!