Originally posted on http://earthandmoney.ca/raising-a-financially-responsible-adult/
Managing money is tough for a lot of people. The majority of adults have a hard time saving, spending carefully, and investing in themselves. This is probably because we don’t learn financial skills much in school, and use them every day in real life. It is vital knowledge for everyone, which is why parents should be doing their best to raise financially competent and responsible young adults. There are a few things you should be doing to rear the most financially savvy kid you can, here are a few of them.
Include your Kids in Financial Decisions
One of the most important things you can do is actually pretty simple—involve them in your own financial choices. This can begin very young and ingrain them with a sense of importance when it comes to financial decisions. Discussing these issues is uncomfortable for many parents but it teaches your children fundamental things. For example, it will help learn how to save, spend responsibly, borrow, and invest. Using everyday situations will provide a practical element to these lessons. Not only will it facilitate their growth in regards to finances, speaking you with about it will strengthen their communication skills.
Encourage Financial Communication
As it turns out, hiding the details of finances isn’t really good for anyone, whether you are bringing home the bacon or simply eating it. When you teach your kids financial communication skills, they will have them forever. It is key to engaging their interest in finances, it enables them to make better choices by both asking for help and receiving advice.
Give them a Prepaid Debit Card
According to the site MoneyPug, which is widely used to find UK prepaid cards, giving your young teen a card loaded with funds that they can spend is a great avenue to teach financial independence. This is a great way to make sure your kids have spending money while enabling to learn about saving, investing in their future, and more.
Your teen will not be able to spend what they don’t have. You can use the card as a way to show them that they only have a certain amount of money left. By loading money for allowance, school supplies, food, and more, your kids can learn how to conserve.
It is important to be tough and refrain from giving them extra money after they run out. You are teaching lessons with the card, not giving them a personal credit line. Another helpful aspect of these debit cards is that it will show them how to take out money and therefore understand the interplay between cash, debit, and credit.
Help them Open a Savings Account
A great way to show your kids how to be financially responsible is to make an event out of opening a savings account. It is essential that even before the teen opens their own checking account that they have a savings account where they put a portion of their money. Tell them that they always need to a percentage away and that the rest is for spending. By encouraging these good habits, you will foster a financially savvy young person in no time.
Show them How to Invest
Intelligently investing is another step when you feel that your child has a grasp on the basics of saving and spending. Showing them that there are intelligent ways to keep your money safe and growing will spark an interest in them. Everyone likes to gain money, and teaching your children these sometimes boring but useful ideas can make all the difference in the world.
Help them Automate their Finances
Getting organized is so integral in every aspect of life, but especially with money. Using apps and other services, you can show them how to allocate money in order to pay bills, save, invest, and, lastly, to spend. With the tools of modernity at your disposal, your child can learn independence and responsibility by engaging with numbers and emotion-less reasoning. When you are able to see what a computer will do with your money, you can learn the ways of intelligent financials.
There is no single method to teach your kids financial responsibility, but by putting in the effort and using comprehensive tools and methods, you’ll show them that it is not only possible to live financially independent, it is necessary to live a happy, stress-free life.
