“I now realize that the greatest power in the world is the power of knowledge” (insert lol here if you already know where I’m going with this). The quote, was something that every student from my elementary school and I had to say at the start of every day. Nevertheless, the quote holds true– there is much power in knowledge and the sooner one understands a concept the better. Yesterday, in The First Piggy Bank, I posed the question: how do you introduce the concept of saving to children? To take that question a step further, when is the best time to introduce the concept of saving to children? The earlier the better. The benefits of teaching your children about money early on are both immediate and long-term. It helps in the development of smart saving habits earlier in life and also teaches discipline and self control. Understanding that just because you want something right now doesn’t mean that you can afford it, will save children and parents in the end. I’m glad I shared the tidbit of my first one hundred pennies because it allowed me to dig deeper into my memory bank of children and saving money. One memory definitely comes to mind. I was in high school and my best friend at the time had a little sister in elementary school. Instead of spending her money on snacks and little kid things, she decided one day that she was going to save her money for a limo. I thought it was extremely funny at the time, but admittedly, I didn’t realize how financially mature she was. The little sister, maybe around 5 years old at the time, decided on a goal and chose to cut her spending to save so she could one day afford her dream car, even if it was a limo. Some adults still haven’t mastered this concept in their endeavor to keep up with the Joneses, but that’s for another post.
While tweeting, I came across a link that directed me back to a site that is becoming a quick favorite of mine and a financial must: www.mint.com. Mint and the Scholastic have teamed up to teach kids the basics of money management. Mint education has figured out a way to make learning about personal finance fun with how to articles to interactive games that guides kids to adults through the ends and outs of money management. Personally, I can’t wait to read More Education, More Problems? The Myth of Grad School.. Teaching kids about saving early will help them to respect your hard-earned money earlier in life. Just remember, adults, it is never too late to learn about personal finance and money management. See The 5 Golden Rings to Your Child’s Financial Success to start the conversation with your child/teen or a child/teen that you care for.
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shemakescents 