To prepare your child for successful money management habits as adults, you will need to start a savings routine with them as children. Here are 10 ways to do that!
by Andrea Gibbs | Andrea is currently the head of content management at SpringHive Web Design Company, a digital agency that provides creative web design, social media marketing, email marketing, and search engine optimization services to small businesses and entrepreneurs. She is also a blog contributor at Baby Steps Preschool where she writes storytime themes, parenting tips, and seasonal activities to entertain children.
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Starting a savings routine with your child is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. They will learn the power of saving and how to be disciplined in what they purchase. It also sets them up for a brighter future–being financially responsible, budget-keeping, and saving can help them lead a more productive adult life.
By setting a savings routine with your child, they will feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves and more connected to the world outside their home. It may take some time for some children to get used to having some money saved instead of spending every penny they make on new clothes, video games, and snacks throughout the week.
While there are various reasons you should start a savings routine with your child, such as teaching them the power of saving and how to be fiscally responsible, there are also various ways you can begin. Here are ten easy ways that you can start a savings routine with your child.
#1 Incorporate Saving Into Their Normal Day
The most common way of starting a savings routine with your child is by simply being consistent. Children are creatures of habit, and getting them into the habit of saving will not happen overnight. It takes time, discipline, and consistency.
Incorporate saving into their daily routine by setting a designated amount to be held daily. Making it part of their daily routine will not seem like an added chore but something natural for them to do.
Meals are the perfect time to incorporate savings since you can teach financial responsibility simultaneously. Before going grocery shopping, let your child know how much money they can spend on snacks before you get there to avoid overspending on junk food. As you begin shopping, tell them how much they can spend depending on what they want to purchase.
#2 Give Them Their Own Account
It is essential to make the saving routine your child’s responsibility. By giving them their account with a limit of how much money they can spend on what they want, they will begin to learn how much money it takes to save up for certain items. This way, they will control their finances and understand the power of saving. This may sound like a simple idea, but putting it into practice can be challenging.
If you find that your child has trouble saving, simply give them their money and tell them they have to save up for what they want. By taking away their control, you can teach the value of saving and let them figure out how exactly they will do it. It will also teach patience, a skill that is valuable in life as well.
#3 Give Them A Set Goal For Saving
Another way to incorporate financial responsibility within your child’s routine is by letting them know about the basics of savings before beginning this process. Show your child how much it costs to buy certain items and what percentage of their income should be saved monthly for emergencies. This can help them realize the importance of keeping more.
Even if you are having trouble getting your child to save money, a 10-minute conversation where you show them fundamental math problems can help teach them how to save effectively. Giving your child a goal to save up for something will motivate them to practice keeping every day. This can be easier said than done, but as long as they know that they need to put some money aside, they will have less of an argument.
#4 Show Them How-To
To begin helping your child save money, simply show them how they should do it. This may seem small, but showing them how exactly they need to do something can help them learn the skills and encourage them when they are learning independently.
This can also be helpful if you find that your child hates saving and will not put any money aside at all. By showing them why they need to keep it and what it will look like when they are done, they will be more motivated to do it. This way, you can help them overcome any difficulties that may arise.
#5 Give Them Rewards
If your child is not interested in saving money, a simple reward could be enough to get them interested. Utilize your imagination and see what kinds of tips they would be most interested in. It can be something small such as a sticker or pencils and paper, but it can also be a bigger reward such as movies or video games. Give them whatever you think they would like and see if this helps.
If your child is utterly uninterested in saving anything, giving them rewards for the amount they have saved will show them the importance of saving up for an unexpected expense.
#6 Explain The Value Of Saving
Let your child know how much money and time it takes to save for particular items. This can be done by simply giving them the prices or times certain items take to save money. You can also show them how much money they can keep each day and what they can purchase with it if they want.
By teaching your child this, they will learn the importance of saving. This could help teach kids financial responsibility since if you don’t educate them at a young age, they won’t realize it until later in life and will be less likely to apply it on their own if they save consistently as young.
#7 Give Them Allowances
Allowances are a good way to begin getting your child used to saving money and practicing this valuable skill. If they receive their allowance every week or every two weeks, they will be more likely to add some of this money into their savings account or stockpile it until they have enough for the item they want. To be effective, you must consistently give out the allowance and not change it along the way if you would like them to continue saving.
Doing this will also help them understand the value of how much money it takes to buy certain items. Giving them money for chores or allowing them to go out for dinner at their friends’ houses will help them realize the value of how much they have in their savings accounts.
#8 Make It More Exciting
In order to truly make saving seem exciting to your child, you can incorporate games into it. You can create a game where they can make pictures out of dollar bills or start a fun game where they save it in boxes and have to open the box the most time to get the most money.
A fun way for children to save money is by placing coins into buckets with a small hole on top. This way, they can watch their money grow until they have enough for what they want. If your child is not interested in any of the games you come up with, keep experimenting until you find one that they genuinely enjoy playing.
The Takeaway
As a parent, you have the power to teach your child how to save money, develop financial responsibility and learn this vital lesson as early as possible. By putting these tips into practice, you can ensure that your child learns the most from this important lesson that can help them throughout life if done correctly.
By helping your child learn how much money it takes to save for a specific item, they will begin understanding how important it is and will want to continue saving for their long-term goals. By teaching them how much time it takes to save up for an item up front, they will see the importance of keeping it regularly from a young age.
