7 Play–time Techniques to Introduce Your Kids to Saving

Teaching your children how to save and value money could be one of the greatest lessons you could bestow upon them in their lifetime. A person’s financial behavior is one of the core values that make his character. If you teach your kids early on in life, the impact is surely bigger and better down the road. As kids, all they want is to play. So hit two birds with one stone: play with them as you teach them the following techniques:

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Give Them Allowance

Challenge your child to a money-management game: give them a certain amount that they can spend for a week or a month. Teach them that they can buy what they want with that allowance, but, it will be better to spare something so they could have something more for the next weeks. It’s even better if they don’t touch their allowance so they could save more. Just teach them and let them budget their own allowances as early as childhood.

Match Contributions

Tell your child that whatever amount they save, you will match it with the same amount or more. If they save a certain amount for this month, give them the same amount or even double it. In that way, they will be encouraged to save more to have more.

Reward System

Whenever they save, match it with a reward like extension of internet usage, or a much wanted dress. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Anything will do as long as it boosts your child’s enthusiasm for saving.

Use Cash

Credit is still abstract to your kids. When you’re with them, try to buy items with your cash, not credit cards. For a while, cash is the only currency they will most likely deal with because it’s a more visual medium. Let them hold cash and make simple transactions. When they grow older, you can then introduce them to more methods of saving and payments such as credit cards and paperless transactions.

Tell Them Money Comes from Effort

Don’t give in to your child’s “I want’s.” Instead allow them to work for what they want. Teach your kids that you worked hard to earn; they should do the same thing. If they want pennies, they should sweep the floor or look for their younger siblings – any chore that is doable by their age. That way, they will develop a sense of responsibility and financial consciousness.

Use Piggy Banks
Piggy banks never get old. It doesn’t have to be the pink pig. You could always make some variations to be more exciting. Stimulate your children’s eagerness from the sound of the coins they drop to the things they can buy once it’s full.

Practice What You Preach

All these doesn’t make sense if your child sees you drowned in debt. Manage all your finances and savings to set a good example for your child. They will most likely do whatever their parents are doing. Their minds are like sponges: they will absorb quickly what they always see.


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This article is contributed by MoneyMax, Philippines leading comparison website. This portal helps individuals in saving money by comparing credit cards, personal loans, insurance and broadband plans.