Teach Your Kids About Money – Money and Store System

NOTE: This method can work for children beginning at around age 3 – and can work through early teen years.

FunnyMoney

There are two key influences in a child’s life when it comes to money:

  1. Their parents
  2. The world around them

Who is more likely to help children have a healthy relationship with money? Ideally, it would be the parents!

Here’s a way to help your child understand how to use money and to make healthy choices with it: Create a Money and Store System

Money and Store System

  1. Create your own money (call it a fun name like Mommy Bucks or Reward Dollars) – Here’s some money I’ve made to help you (DOWNLOAD HERE)
  2. Establish a system where your child can earn this money
  3. Purchase 3 or 4 items you know your child would enjoy and place it in a “store” at your home
  4. Assign a value to each item
  5. Watch the system work – and use the experience to create “teachable moments” where you can have incredible conversations with your child about money.

Consider a parent with a 4 year old boy.

The parents create a currency called “Super Duper Money” (SDM for short). To earn this money, their child must complete special age-appropriate tasks around the house such as:

  • “Pick up pine cones out of the yard”
  • “Feed and water the cat daily”

A value of $1 SDM can be earned each week for each key task.

The store has 4 items in it – with varying prices to create short, medium, and longer term goals:

  • Gummy Worms (Price: $2 SDM)
  • Give food to the Hungry (Price: $4 SDM)
  • Legos (Price: $8 SDM)
  • Big Fire Truck (Price: $16 SDM)

As the child performs the tasks and earns SDMs, they can make a purchase from the store.

It’s that simple, and it allows the parent control the conversation. Imagine the incredible teachable moments that can happen:

  1. Saving  As they save money, they can accomplish more.
  2. Giving  They can learn to sacrifice a gift for themselves to serve those in great need. There’s NOTHING like seeing your child be generous!
  3. Delayed Gratification  The importance of saying “no” right now, so we can say “yes” to something more important later.
  4. It is a good thing to work!  I want my child to learn the value of working.

This post is part of a Kids & Money Series here at the wildly popular JosephSangl.com. Click HERE to read all of the posts in the series.

1 Comment

  1. Beth Marshall on March 4, 2014 at 3:26 pm

    Love this great idea for families, Joe. Real life for kids! Thanks for this.



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