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This post is made possible through the generous support of Great-West Great-Teachers, a program of Great-West Financial.
Start saving early!
All parents know that younger children can be a challenge. They struggle for independence, yet need parental guidance and support constantly. Given all the other issues parents face with their young children, it can be easy to brush aside any chance to have a conversation around money. Coins and cash are difficult enough to explain. How about the concept of savings and credit? Yikes!
As daunting as these conversations can be, it’s never too early to start. And when you do start early, start with the easy concepts. In this video, there are a few tips on how to talk with youngsters about saving.
Here’s a recap of how to get started:
- Create your own savings goals – Share your goal for a new car or a family vacation with your child. In future conversations, you can refer back to that goal and make it a “team effort”.
- Be consistent – Try to incorporate something about saving money into your conversations on a consistent basis. That might be once a week or it might be less frequently than that. However, continually drawing your child into the conversation will keep the concept in his or her mind.
- Demonstrate – The next time you’re at the mall with your kiddo, demonstrate how you made the decision NOT to purchase something you wanted so you could save that money for your goal. Along with Step 2, seeing this kind of decision-making on a frequent basis reinforces the concept of saving for a large goal.
Again, this isn’t always the easiest conversation to have, but there is a wealth of opportunities in everyday life to discuss the concept of saving.
Tell me below if you have any tricks or special vocabulary for teaching your young one. I look forward to reading them!
