Were you blessed enough to have parents who taught you the importance of money management? If so, you are more than likely wanting to do the same for your children. If you had to learn about money management through personal experience, you might have learned the hard way that the way you spend your money is one of the most important skills you can own.
Have you decided that your children are old enough to be taught about how to handle even small amounts of money? If so, from opening a free checking account for each child to setting short-term and long-term goals for how the money will be spent, here are some ideas that will help you.
Go To The Bank - Even before you take your children to the bank, explain that they will be meeting with an officer who will help them to have a safe place to keep the money they earn from doing chores at home to the money they get from their allowance. Teach your children how to firmly shake the hand of the bank officer, just as an adult would do. If you're taking the time to do this financial instruction, that more than likely means that your children are learning good behavior and appropriate manners.
Still, it might be good for you to remind them to say the magic words, please and thank you when they enter the bank. The bank officer will give them their very own bank account number and a free set of checks, along with a record book. The officer will be happy to take the time to show your children how to write a check, including writing the purpose of the check in the section allocated for that.
At Home - Think of giving your children many opportunities to have their own money, even from the time they are little. Help them to know how best to save at least part of their earnings and their allowance. If you want to encourage your children to pay tithing to your church or to give other charitable donations, help them to see that that amount will be taken out of their account. Help them to know how important it is to make a note of every single transaction.
For example, if one of your children has written a check when ordering a car model from a catalog, remind that child to deduct the amount from his or her balance. Consider meeting with your children at least once a week to make sure their checking account is in order. You can even show them how to phone the bank of how to get online to find out what their bank balance is.
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