Your Kids Can Learn From You
Good Money Management Starts Early
Your children’s financial skills are as important as feeding them nutritious food and helping them learn to read. Making wise choices with money, and being able to handle it confidently, will impact nearly every aspect of your child’s life. Children love to learn, especially when they’re young, so why not use everyday life as a way to provide easy lessons on money management? Below are a few tips on how to teach financial education to your children, no matter their age!
Building On Your Child’s Financial Education Is Important At Every Stage.
Elementary-Age Kids: Let your child watch and help with financial transactions. Count change with them. Talk about what you do when you visit the credit union, an ATM, or even when you’re checking out in the grocery line. Explain where money comes from and how it gets to your account. Explain how it is earned. Sign your child up for the Connexus Koala Club Savings Account to actively practice saving!
Middle & High School: Offer simple lessons on credit, balancing a checkbook, and even how you’re preparing for retirement. Talk about taxes – how you file a return and why all of us pay taxes on our earnings. Also provide examples of helpful giving as your child begins to earn income of their own. Encourage goal setting, saving, and looking for ways to earn extra money.
College Students: Discuss with young adults how to prepare and maintain budgets. Share your experience with managing debt, credit cards and student loans. Offer guidance for finding employment that pays the bills and the consequences of longer-term investments. Though financial conversations can be difficult, focusing on what you can do to assist them in gaining full independence will help set the young adult in your life up for financial success.
Every child’s path to positive financial management is unique, but most begin with an active interest in saving and how the money process works. It’s never too early to become financially fit.
Resource Materials and Interactive Tools:
www.kidsmoney.org
www.richkidsmartkid.com
www.federalreserveeducation.org
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