Allegius knows the importance of its members’ families having financial literacy. Financial literacy is a set of skills and concepts such as budgeting, savings, investing, borrowing, debt management and how all decisions are made in these areas.
For most parents the saying, “Money doesn’t grow on trees” may have been the extent of their financial education growing up. However, it is important to teach children money management basics so they can become Money-Wise growing up and throughout adulthood.
While every child is different, here are some guidelines on how to teach children financial literacy.
Ages 3-5
This is a great time to start using a piggy bank or savings jar to encourage children to watch their savings grow over time. At this age, you can begin talking about the idea of money and using some of the child’s savings from the piggy bank to make a small purchase.
Ages 6-8
Children at this age range can start to learn about earning money through work. Families can start conversations about the difference between needs and wants and simple budgeting talks can also be useful at this stage. For example, separating money into different categories: save, spend and share.
Ages 9-11
Now is a great time to further expand their understanding of money and how it is earned by giving children opportunities to do chores, offering rewards for good grades, or even having small business activities such as a lemonade stand.
Ages 12-14
At this stage children can use budgeting to save for more items on their wish list with a higher price tag. Teaching about comparison shopping is also very important. School supply shopping is a great time to use this skill!
Ages 15-17
As they begin considering future life and career paths after high school, consider introducing them to concepts such as retirement and investing. Part-time summer jobs provide a learning opportunity to review paychecks together and discuss taxes and deductions. This is also a great time to open a checking account at Allegius and to teach them about the fundamentals of credit and encourage them to set financial goals.
The key to teaching financial wellness and literacy to the next generation is to start early and teach often. Allegius is here to help you with this! Pairing one of our Kasasa checking accounts with Easy Saver is an easy, no-fuss, saving strategy. Visit www.allegius.org to learn more.