When do you think is the right time to teach your kids about fianances and paying their bills?
How were you taught? Do you think its the school’s responsiblity or your responsibility to show your kids what the real world is really like?
Quick answer: I learned by watching my mom stress over money. I think it is the parents’ responsibility to show their kids about finances and paying their bills. But the school also needs to step in and make sure kids know the basics. – Not every parent is going to be equipped to show their kids the right way to handle things.
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I remember in 9th grade we spent a few weeks learning about personal finances and paying your bills. To me, it was one of the easiest, most boring things ever. But 80% of the class struggled.
Here is how I am teaching my daughter:
When she was 2, I started giving her a small allowance of $1/week. When we went to WalMart, if she wanted something that costs more than $1 I would explain to her that if she saves her dollars, she can get it later.
When she was 4 there was a $9 mirror that she wanted. 9 weeks of saving sounded like forever. I introduced the idea that she can do extra chores for extra money. She took about a month to buy her mirror, and 5 years later she still appreciates it.
When she was 5, she started paying more attention to my money. So I showed her several times "this is my paycheck money. We have to save this much to pay for our apartment. And our groceries cost this much. So I am going to put this back in the bank for later and we have this much to do fun stuff with." When we got home, I would put the "fun" money in 2 jars … One was for little things like an icecream cone. The other was for bigger things like a night at the carnival.
Now that she is 9 I still occasionally show her the breakdown of where my money goes. She is expected to save her own money for certain things that she wants. And I take her with me when I certain bills.
At 9 years old, my daughter has put about $140 in the bank so that she can go to Hawaii when she grows up. We have shown her what the trip will probably cost and helped her figure out how much she will need to save per month. She has about $35 in her bedroom for smaller expenses like the box of girlscout cookies she wants and her class trip to a water park.
In a few years, when she gets a steady source of income, I will let her pick something like a cell phone that comes with small monthly payments. As she gets older, she can pay for more of her own stuff.
When they start asking for money to buy all those things you can’t afford
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Me
its parents responsibility to show your kids the real world.. the teachers dont help a shit. well you should start talking about at the age of 17 or 18
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My mom showed me when I was about 15-16.
School taught me a little but not nearly enough. (when I was about 17)
I think it is definately the parent’s responsibility.
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I taught my kids since they were 8.
When they turned 14 I stopped buying them things directly. After their 14th birthday they all started receiving a monthly cheque to pay for things they wanted or needed. Aside from shared things like food and furniture they owned and managed all their possesions. As they grew and wanted more things they had to get jobs for more money.
They did this until they moved out.
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It worked really well.
I began teaching my children early on, little by little. Next time you’re shopping, let your child count out and hand the cashier the money. When they get older, give them an allowance and let them pay for miscellaneous items. Tell them to get a job when they are old enough and have them pay for their cellphone bills, etc. I also told my children from early on that not everyone in the world is as fortunate as them and that they have a responsibility to help others.
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I think it’s the parents responsibility, my mom taught me at 16 and i’m now 18 and living in the college dorms.
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From the time the child is old enough to have any money….whether from allowance, or birthdays.
I would not rely on the school to show them something so important, although a finance class might give them some useful tools.
When my kids got their first jobs, I opened savings accounts in their names, and insisted that they put a certain percentage of what they earned into savings.
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Quick answer: I learned by watching my mom stress over money. I think it is the parents’ responsibility to show their kids about finances and paying their bills. But the school also needs to step in and make sure kids know the basics. – Not every parent is going to be equipped to show their kids the right way to handle things.
—
I remember in 9th grade we spent a few weeks learning about personal finances and paying your bills. To me, it was one of the easiest, most boring things ever. But 80% of the class struggled.
Here is how I am teaching my daughter:
When she was 2, I started giving her a small allowance of $1/week. When we went to WalMart, if she wanted something that costs more than $1 I would explain to her that if she saves her dollars, she can get it later.
When she was 4 there was a $9 mirror that she wanted. 9 weeks of saving sounded like forever. I introduced the idea that she can do extra chores for extra money. She took about a month to buy her mirror, and 5 years later she still appreciates it.
When she was 5, she started paying more attention to my money. So I showed her several times "this is my paycheck money. We have to save this much to pay for our apartment. And our groceries cost this much. So I am going to put this back in the bank for later and we have this much to do fun stuff with." When we got home, I would put the "fun" money in 2 jars … One was for little things like an icecream cone. The other was for bigger things like a night at the carnival.
Now that she is 9 I still occasionally show her the breakdown of where my money goes. She is expected to save her own money for certain things that she wants. And I take her with me when I certain bills.
At 9 years old, my daughter has put about $140 in the bank so that she can go to Hawaii when she grows up. We have shown her what the trip will probably cost and helped her figure out how much she will need to save per month. She has about $35 in her bedroom for smaller expenses like the box of girlscout cookies she wants and her class trip to a water park.
In a few years, when she gets a steady source of income, I will let her pick something like a cell phone that comes with small monthly payments. As she gets older, she can pay for more of her own stuff.
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We started with our 7 year old by giving an allowance every week. Whenever he wanted something we asked him how much he saved. If there wasn’t enough he had to wait and then when there was enough money for the item in question, we would remind him how long it took to save for it and that once he paid for it, he would have to start all over again with saving. It helped him make better decisions on purchases. He also has an old check book to show him how to balance his money. Its good to show him credit and debits.
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