Make finances fun for children

Make finances fun for children

03/01/2013

Do kids care about money?

Has your child ever emptied her piggy bank onto her bed and then stacked up coins like King Midas?

Or when the kids play a real estate board game, do they become the banker and then act like a Wall Street tycoon?

If you answered "yes" to these questions, you may have a capitalist in training. Why not make money matters more fun and educational for him or her? As the saying goes, there's an app for that.

Chores and allowance: An allowance may be your child's first chance at managing a budget. Guess what? There are apps out there to help your children keep track of their money.

Just type "allowance" in your preferred app store. This may be a great place to learn about credits and debits, pie charts, and money management. A couple popular choices include iAllowance and Allowance Manager.

Do your children have to do chores to earn their money? Apps can also keep track of this, showing them what tasks need to be completed to earn their allowance. Not only does this track money rewards, but other types of compensation, such as extra time watching television or time using the computer.

Bank accounts: Adults aren't the only people who can benefit from an online tool to follow their bank account. A bank account is a true sign of responsibility as your children earn their allowance, receive money as a gift, or even get first jobs. You can help your child choose an appropriate bank account. Then you can both keep track of their account balance as it grows, thanks to compounding interest, or drops following a visit to the mall.

Spending wisely: Opportunities abound to use apps to teach your children about spending. They may even learn a little math along the way. For example, you can use apps or websites to do comparison shopping. Before making a purchase, your children can research what they want to buy and try to find the best price. Not only will it get them a bargain, but it may keep them from buying things impulsively.

There are also apps for store rewards and coupons. Your children can see how much they are saving on their purchases and can try to find ways to reduce their costs. If you're lucky, they may even help you find some coupons for the supermarket. A quick search for "shopping" will come up with suggestions such as "Sale saver" and "Discount calculator."

Games (the fun stuff): Board games with financial themes are still around, but many of them are now available online and on mobile phones. They can be found under "Finance" and "Education" in app stores. These games may be simulations of games you already know. Newer games may have storylines in which kids earn money, or they might simply teach children how to make change.

Notes:

This article is for educational purposes only.

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無意間在Vanguard的網站上看到這篇文章，也讓我開始思索如何教育小孩「理財」這件事。