Children can learn money skills as early as age 3! Here are just a few tips to help young credit union members save:
- Have young children—preschool age—sort different types of money into piles by color and size.
- Play grocery store or credit union/bank. Help them use a pretend cash register.
- At the grocery store, let kids of all ages help you shop. Teach them how to comparison shop. For example, show them that for every $4.85 box of cereal, there may be similar brands on sale for half as much.
- As children get older, let them know what things cost. Share sales receipts for items you’ve purchased for them and for bills you’ve paid.
- If you decide to pay an allowance, include them in the decision-making process. Discuss allowance amounts and expectations. The amount is your call, but ask for their input. One idea is to have children set aside part of their allowance for spending, part for saving, and part for sharing or charity. Clarify what you'll pay for and what they are responsible for. For example, when you're at the movies, maybe you agree to pay for the ticket, but the Milk Duds are on them.
- As kids reach high-school age, reexamine the rules. Clarify what you will pay for and what your teenager is responsible for. For example, your teenager may want the newest cell phone that comes with a high price tag, so establish your spending limit. If she still wants the more expensive version, have her make up the difference. Oftentimes, once the responsibility of paying for an item is on the teenager, the "latest and greatest" isn’t so important.
Get youth started on the right track financially. Bring them in to Sun Federal CU —we have more ideas to help you raise children to be financially savvy young adults.