My toddler is three. I haven’t started giving her any lessons in money yet. I know the time is coming and she needs to learn. Her only real lesson with money so far has been that swallowing a quarter is a very bad idea. The other lesson she’s been getting with money is that if a card arrives from Grandma, there will be a dollar inside. She loves to open her savings box and count her dollars. When is the right age to start teaching children about money? Jessie can understand the fifty cents that the ride toy requires outside … Continue reading →

When I was a little girl and my parents gave me an allowance I was required to tithe ten percent to church. I dutifully put a dime in the tithe envelope and deposited the envelope in the offering plate in children’s church. We advocate for children now by fostering. Jessie is learning to care for others less fortunate by sharing her home, parents, and possessions with them. When she has a better understanding of money, then we will start to instill in her more of a stewardship to help others. There are opportunities all around us to help others. Start … Continue reading →

There’s an episode of Family Guy where Meg, Stewie, and Chris find a lost wallet. The Griffin children want to spend the money. Neighbor Joe Swanson informs the kids that they need to turn the lost wallet in to the police and then wait two weeks for it to be claimed. If the wallet is not claimed, the kids get to keep the funds. I do believe Bobby went through a similar situation on The Brady Bunch. When I was in high school my boyfriend and I went to Nazarene Night at Disneyland with my church. We were waiting in … Continue reading →

When I was a little girl I got an allowance. I had to do chores to get this allowance. When I was really little, I would gather up all the bedroom trash cans and empty them in the big can on the service porch. When I was bigger, I had to load and unload the dishwasher. I don’t think I often got an allowance without something tied to it. In junior high school my parents tried to monetarily break me of my underachieving ways. I underachieved with amassing cash stores too. I was reading a piece by Suze Orman and … Continue reading →

It is only natural for parents to want their children to have an easier time of things when they become adults than they themselves have had. No parent wants his or her child to grow up, become independent, and then struggle financially. Fortunately, parents are in a position to teach children the fundamentals of finance so that they have a better chance of having that easier time that their parents wish for them. Financial literacy is not something that was taught in school when I was a student, at least not in much depth. In a class called “Personal and … Continue reading →

I can’t remember the last time I saw a piggy bank outside a Toy Story movie. It used to be that every child had one, although I’m unsure as to the history of the piggy bank, or why someone thought that sticking money into a porcelain pig was a great idea. But the point is, children used to earn their allowance by doing jobs, and then they would carefully plunk their coins into the back of their little piggy, and then they’d rattle it to see if it sounded any different. It was a ritual, a happy childhood tradition. In … Continue reading →

Last summer, my daughter got a job. She’s five. Now granted, this job was selling lemonade and homemade crafts on the front porch, but she did it for long, grueling hours in the sun every day. She also washed cars with her friends. After a month of this on and off work, she’d made enough money to purchase a Playmobil camper. Then she quit. Poor child. If I hadn’t refused to buy her a camper, she would have spent her summer hours engaged in other endeavors. Or would she? I think that even small children get great satisfaction out of … Continue reading →

When I was a little girl my brother and sisters and I played a lot of board games. We played more cards than board games, but we still played board games. In Monopoly we had to figure out the value of property and how to get a complete set. You didn’t learn a lot about finance, though, even if you were the banker. One of my favorite games to play was The Game of Life. The Game of Life was not an entirely accurate representation of what adult life is about, but it was pretty close. You went to school, … Continue reading →

To get your kids in the giving spirit, start teaching them to donate at a young age. Kids naturally want it all for themselves, so by teaching them to give to those in need – they also learn a valuable life lesson. The first step is to find a charity or cause that holds special meaning for your child. Who they give to and how much they give isn’t as important as finding value in the process. If your daughter loves animals, consider donating to the local Humane Society. If your son wants to be a firefighter, donate to your … Continue reading →