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Global Money Week, which is celebrated from Monday 25th to Sunday 31st March in over 130 countries, is aimed at increasing financial awareness and literacy in young people. Sort My Money founder and father of three, David Rankin, gives us his top five tips on how this event can be the catalyst for making your kids money mindful.
- Lead by Example. In an age of electronic transactions, money has become invisible and – therefore – intangible for young people. David’s advice is to withdraw the same amount of cash from the ATM on the same day each week, make all day-to-day purchases (on things like food, drink and petrol) using this cash and to park the plastic – in the form of debit and credit cards. By doing so, you set a highly visible example to your children of how to live within your means by only spending money that you already have.
- Make Grocery Shopping into Child’s Play. Food shopping is by far the biggest weekly outgoing for most families. With the demise of the corner shop, though, many young people don’t have any appreciation of how food even makes it into the fridge. Get everybody involved (and save money at the same time) by:
-Placing a whiteboard in the kitchen and having everyone (including the kids) update it each time you run out of something.
-Taking a photo of the whiteboard and using it to do a big weekly shop with the children at the weekend.
-Making sure everyone has eaten before they head out (shopping on an empty stomach is expensive!).
-Teaching the kids how to compare prices when choosing their favourite breakfast cereals, and so on.
-Asking them to guess the value of the contents of the trolley . . . before handing over a ‘fistful of fifties’ at the check-out.
- Teach the Value of Money. By ensuring that pocket money is linked to chores, not only are you instilling a healthy work ethic in your kids, you are also teaching them to value money. Get them to see their weekly allowance as a well-deserved reward for making their bed, packing their lunches, taking out the trash and getting to school on time every day, and you set them up for monetary success – and much more – later in life.
- Mobile Money Milestone. A child’s first mobile phone marks a significant increase in personal responsibility, so make this rite of passage into a money milestone too. By saving up for it and – with your advice – choosing the best purchase options (including second-hand) and ways to manage and pay for calls and data themselves, their level of money maturity will soar.
- Allow Financial Freedom. Respect the fact that the cash your children earn from pocket money or a part-time job is their money. If they are constantly spending up or saving and splurging, allow them this freedom. Financial lessons learned now – while they are still in your care – will help them to avoid more costly and painful mistakes later on.