I am sure that many moms (and dads) will agree that the value of money should be taught to our kids even at their young ages. But since the idea of budgeting is just so complex, teaching a kid how to do it can sometimes be complicated as well. To beat this dilemma, let me share with you my merry moms a few simple ways (that really worked with us) in teaching our 6-year old daughter, Nicki, the value of money and the concept of budgeting.
And here goes our list:
1. Let your kids come with you when you do shopping at the mall, grocery store or even at the market. This seems to be the easiest. We always bring Nicki with us every time we do shopping or buying our groceries. Doing this gives her the idea of spending by simply watching us choose items and pay for it.
2. Allow kids to choose. At the grocery store, we usually ask Nicki to choose her own food. I mean, we let her pick items that she wishes to have for her snacks or baon for school. We just remind her to get only those items that she will surely eat because we do not want to waste food. We remind her that when she wastes food, she also wastes the money that was used in buying the food.
3. If kids can already read, let them read the tags. When choosing food, we let Nicki read the price tags and then ask her whether she thinks it’s mahal (pricey) or mura (affordable/cheap). I believe that this activity lets the kids understand the value of money in a fun way. We sometimes use the price scanner to make this step more enjoyable.
Merry Tip: This works best in a toy store when your child asks you to buy toys that they saw on TV. It gives their young minds a better understanding of how precious (and expensive!) their toys are that’s why they really need to take good care of the toys they have.
4. Teach kids to make a “To Buy” list. Since Nicki already knows how to write, we let her join us in preparing “To Buy” list or grocery list. We even ask her what she thinks are already missing in our household like her favorite peanut butter spread, her breakfast cereals, her milk and so on.
Merry Tip: This also teaches our kids to be organized and mindful in their own little ways.
4. Let your kids have a full experience of the budgeting process. This sounds hard but it’s not. Really! How we did it? At the grocery store, we give Nicki an allowance that she needs to budget herself. We let her compute her will-be-expenses against her money and just remind her to make sure that her money is enough to pay for the items she put in her basket/cart.
She got Php50.00 to budget. [Sorry for the cartons at the back.]
We let her experience the whole thing – from choosing to paying her items.
Hahaha… A peso over her allowance because she bought a Nova chips.
Merry Tip: This step does not only teaches our kids the value of money. It also enhances our kids’ arithmetic skills in a fun way. Plus, this activity helps to develop our child’s confidence even at their young ages.
Teaching our kids the value of money does not need to be burden at all. The steps mentioned above were already tried and tested and I tell you, it worked! I hope these steps will also be useful with you in any way.
Do you have other ideas on how to teach our kids the value of money? Share it with us, please… Feel free to comment below.
Great tips, Mommy! Will keep those in mind!! 😉
I’m also doing the same thing with my son but the funny thing is, if I will give him money isa lang nabibili niya. If P100 yan, P99.95 ang napipili. hehehe!
What a great tips mommy! I like all your tips and I would love to apply it also to my toddler. But as of now my toddler love to put all the coins on his piggy bank haha!
Very informative! Will apply these tips to my little girl too!
During Maricel Laxa’s Mommy Talk at Gymboree Sta. Rosa, she also recommended giving a child some budget when shopping. That way, they have fun but at the same time they learn the value of money.
Great tips!
I love the idea of kids learning to budget at an early age. We too have started to do the same. 🙂
These are great tips. One of my friends taught his daughter how to budget in almost the same way as you did. She’s almost a teenager now and is starting to have her own business sense, too. 🙂
These are great tips! Nice! And kudos to your bright girl, sakto ang total sa budget!
I think these are very helpful.These days some kids think money grow on trees.
Great tips! I especially like the last part where your daughter gets an amount and buys for herself. I bring my kids to the grocery too but it’s more of exposure to the food and the things in there. I will try this when they’re a little older.
It’s great that you’re teaching your kid how to budget at such a young age. That’s one sure way to make her financially responsible when she’s all grown up.
You are doing a great job teaching your young daughter the value of money and how to do math. Keep it up!
I believe this is very important for kids. When my son is old enough to learn things like this, I will definitely follow your tips.
Hubby and I agree that it’s a good idea to let the kiddos do some shopping for themselves with a budget. Might try letting them budget for their Tuesday school snacks.
These are all great tips! I also let my daughter budget and make a list of to buy things around the house.
Keep it up!
Someday, I’ll let my daughter try this. For now, she comes with me to basically experience what it feels like to shop. I like that she’s not the “bilmoko” type. So I guess budgeting will come easy. 🙂
Great tips! All very helpful for a child to understand how it all exactly works. My teens are great when it comes to expenses. They’re very understanding maybe because I’m also honest with them. I like the idea of my youngest having a budget and for him to shop for what he wants. Will be trying this on our next grocery run.