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Teaching Kids Everyday Money Skills

mom i want that!

Mom! I Want That!!!

Let’s be honest… we’ve all heard it. In the aisles of the toy store, at the checkout counter of the grocery store. Mooooooommm, I want that! Can I have it puhleeeaaaseee!!! I’ve actually even been witness to a breath holder. Yowzers! And we’ve all resorted to whining management strategies like “Sit in the cart and read a book”, “Here, watch a movie on my phone”, “Do you want some cheerios?”, “If you’re really good, I’ll buy you some smarties!”… distractions and “just be quiet” offers.

I am a mom of 4 boys and a lender by profession. So I’ve experienced both the store song & dance AND I’ve seen the results of it going unchecked at work.

Using the above mentioned whining management strategies might work for the short term (been there done that–everyone needs some peace to just shop without incident sometimes), but if we don’t address it with our kids at some point, it can have an effect on how they manage their money as adults.

Understanding money management and how to make financial decisions are skills that are as essential as reading and writing. Kids learn quickly. Money habits start forming by age 7. We need to teach them how to be smart with money early on.

I’ve seen it from the other side of a lending desk. Young adults came to the bank in droves to fix financial problems and unfavourable situations. The root of their financial woes? Straight-up mismanagement of money… no restraint or planning when it came to credit. Digging deeper, these issues occurred because they never learned how to properly manage money and make smart financial decisions.

Do your kids a favour–give them some insight and teach them about money. They really truly need to build this skill set to establish a bright financial future.