We’ve all sat through an often-agonizing Friday afternoon over at the dining table, checking our child’s progress in school and their homework. As a rule of thumb, they mainly study Science, Maths and some English; all noble pursuits I’m sure, but something always seems to be missing. They lack essential life skills that will come in handy as they grow up, things like health education, critical thinking skills, and money management, to name a few.
Money management is one of the most important things to get them going.
Here are five simple money tricks you can tutor your child today that can make all the difference:
Set an example. All successful parents understand the concept of leading by example. You’d be surprised how quickly children catch on from their parents.
Put them in charge. Giving a child the responsibility to manage their own spending is a sure enough way to teach them budgeting, avoid impulse buying and prioritize their spending.
Give commissions, not allowances. Attach their pocket money to a set of chores or errands, or, better yet, connect it to their academic or sports performance. That’ll teach your beloved the concepts of reward and the hard lesson that there is no such thing as a 'free lunch.'
Teach them the importance of giving. Allow them to pick a charity organization to which they can donate extra cash. This will teach them the importance of giving and, eventually, that giving doesn’t just affect the given, but also the giver.
Sign them up to a Nexta account. Nexta can issue supplementary cards for children as young as seven years old, and it’s never too early to start! You can monitor and peg their spending, transfer emergency money to their card when needed, and even attach allowances to a list of milestones they need to achieve.
