Encouraging Your Children to Save Money
As a parent, you usually want your children to have the best
that life has to offer. Unfortunately, you know that it can be
quite difficult to get the money that you need sometimes as an
adult... and you wish that there was some way that you could
spare your children these same problems.
Luckily, there may actually be a way that you can help your
children to prepare for the future today; by encouraging them to
start saving money while they're young, you can set up habits
that will follow them into adulthood and possibly even help them
to build up a nest egg to help them along their way.
Children and Money
Children like money... after all, it's used to buy the things
that they enjoy and it's so hard for them to get. Even small
amounts of money seem huge to a small child. That said, children
tend to like instant gratification of their wants and desires,
so whatever toy or piece of candy that they might want is very
likely to be purchased should they be able to afford it. The key
to helping your children to save money is to get them to realize
that better things can come along if they save the money that
they have for a later day.
Rewards and Encouragement The easiest way to get your children
used to the idea of saving money is to offer up a rewards system
when they manage to save some of their allowance or other money.
Perhaps you'd offer to give them a little bit of extra money
after they save up a certain amount, or tell them that you'll
pay a portion of the cost for something that they want if they
can save up the rest of the amount. You should also periodically
ask them how much they have saved up, offering them
encouragements for a job well done when they start to build a
little bit of savings.
Don't Send Mixed Signals
However you choose to encourage your children to save money,
it's important that you stay consistent with what you tell them.
Don't tell them that they're saving their money so that they can
get the more expensive things that they want later only to
punish them when they spend it on something that they've been
saving for. Make sure that they understand that it's their money
and that they can do whatever they like with it, but if they
continue to save it then they're more likely to be able to reap
the rewards of it at a later time.
Savings Accounts
After your children have gotten the hang of saving money, you
might want to get them a savings account. Make sure that they go
with you so that they can be a part of the process... after all,
it's their first bank account. It can help a child to feel
confident about savings knowing that they're doing a "grown up"
thing like opening a bank account. You should also take them
with you whenever a deposit is going to be made, so that they
can personally give the teller the money and continue the "grown
up" feel of banking.
Though it may just be them thinking that they're more mature
than they are, the positive feelings associated with depositing
the money will likely carry over to later life and help to
reinforce the habit of saving money long after they've gone out
into the world as an adult.
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