Great 'Teach kids to save money' Hunt

natterer_2

My 5 year old has to pay 50p a week for snacks/drinks at school. I give her £1 and she pays for the snack out of this, and does what she likes with the rest. I did this because we all have non-negotiable bills to pay out of our incomes.

My 7 year old can buy snacks at school from a tuck shop. She gets £3 a week as this is the cost of toast and a hot chocolate daily in the tuck shop. After 4 weeks at school, she'd saved £9.46 of it - which she then happily spent when the fair came to town.

So far I think this approach has been quite successful.

The only thing is, I do feel that once it's their money, I can't have too much input on what they spend it on, so if they choose to go to the shop and buy a hideous amount of sweets, I have to bite my lip and let them.

They have other household jobs they are expected to do without payment, I like the two to be separate as I don't think helping out should be seen as something you do for gain.

ttp

My 12 year old does his chores for free because these things need to be done anyway. However he began to receive pocket money (£5 a week) when he was 11 to get his little bits or save up for 'unnecessary' things. Being a little careless with his possessions, he had lost a couple of jumpers, so on the last occasion, the value of the jumper was taken from his pocket money to pay for a replacement. Needless to say he is now more careful with his things. He has learned to save, budget and even buys treats for his little brothers now and again.

luxor4t

Errata wrote: »

It's hard for small children to understand money. A £1 coin is just a shiny gold thing to them. Using a proxy sometimes works and helps them to understand eg 3 chocolate bars equals a pound coin, and the new book/bike/whatever they want is tens or hundreds of chocolate bars.

This worked with my 3 kids when they were small in the 90s.

36p was 3 mini-milk lollies - a special treat in the park on the way home from school. Some days they had squash & biscuits instead - message being that 36p does not fall from the trees.

Half-term treat was a trip to McDonalds so if DS1 wanted a ride on the roundabout in the town centre, or DD wanted a helium balloon then they had the decision - the "I want / I must have" item and sit & watch the others in McD's.... came close once or twice but they had counted the 'treat' money into my purse so they knew they could not have both.

NO has always meant NO in our house - reasons were explained & choices given as far as possible.

Once they were old enough they set up their own paper round co-operative: they became 50% of the local newsagent's delivery team & covered each other for absences, at one time running 4 rounds between the 3 of them. I knew we'd got it right then

betterlife

natterer wrote: »

The only thing is, I do feel that once it's their money, I can't have too much input on what they spend it on, so if they choose to go to the shop and buy a hideous amount of sweets, I have to bite my lip and let them. .

i know what you mean, but to save my kids teeth i decided they could only have sweets once a week, which i would pay for, they could have what they want to the value of 60p each. there money was not allowed to be spent on sweets.

betterlife

there are some great idea`s on this thread, but i still cant decide whether pocket should just be given or earned, i agree certain jobs around the house should just be done as day to day life/living, but i also want my children to learn the value of money and that it will have to be earned/worked for when they are older. my eldest is 10 next month, he likes to go youth club once a week which is £1 entry plus he normally takes £1 for food or drink, he is also interested in joining a football club, he was in one this time last year for about 3mths before he got bored, in this time i had to pay his membership £15, kit £10, boots £15 plus £3.50 a week training! i have told him this time he can pay for the initial outlays and if he sticks to it for 6mths i`d give him half back (he recently sold something on ebay so has a bit in the bank) the wkly charge in not to sure what to do about? i have a 6yr old that will probably want to do football aswell, and a 4yr old and 2yr old.
i would like to give them all a bit of pocket money and save the little ones in jars so when they see something they want thay have the money. sweets i buy once a week to the value of around 60p each, no other money is allowed to be spent on sweets.
my eldest is always asking for ways he can earn extra money, but im never sure what he can do and whats fair for doing it, we do not have megga money ourselfs and some weeks are tighter so i dont want to offer unrealistic amounts.
i did think about paper round but as they are not old enough i`d have to commit myself to do it with them! any advice would be greatly appreciated thankyou.

elliep_2

Betterlife: My parents chose not to ask me and my brother to pay weekly sports fees out of our own money as they were concerned that it would become a motivation to not go. i.e. if I don't go to swimming or trampoline this week then I can have that toy sooner. You know your family best but that might be a factor to consider.

When I was young (about 5 perhaps) to when I was 13 I got pennies each week. It started at 20p per week and went up on my birthday each year to £2 per week at 13. After that I got an 'allowance' which started at £20 per month plus an extra £5 if Mum deemed my bedroom tidy enough. At that point I had to start buying clothes and paying for cinema trips etc. Though Mum bought school uniform, school shoes and paid for any family outings.

I think an appropriate amount to give a child is determined by the family circumstance. No matter what your childs friends get you should never put yourself in a position where you can't afford it. No matter what you give there will be others giving their kids more than your kids get, and still others giving less. Make up your own mind and don't be swayed by what the kids tell you their friends get. Also if 'friend' gets £50 per month, ask what they pay for out of that. It might be a parent teaching a child about rent, bills etc and in reality they have a lot less than that to choose what they spend it on.

declan_w

Martin has rightly highlighted the dangerous absence of financial education in our schools - our generation is playing catch up.

In London there is a charity called MyBnk who deliver financial education, school banks and provide 0% interest loans for business start ups for thousands of youths both inside and outside the classroom.

They arm young people with the knowledge, confidence and skills to stay in control of their personal finances and avoid the kind of mistakes and hardship many of us are struggling with.

91% of UK adults have received no form of financial education on basic personal money management, such as budgeting and loans. Nearly half of children in London live in a low income household and a third in a jobless home.

A 16-year-old today could be hit by a £113,000 double debt whammy by the time they are 21. The National Union of Students estimate a London university degree with student loans could hit £90,000, plus an indirect deficit debt of £23,000 to pay off the effects of bad banking.

As job markets shrink and degrees become more expensive and selective, young adults must become innovators and leaders to stand out from the crowd and build a new economy to defeat the deficit.[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

Errata

91% of UK adults have received no form of financial education on basic personal money management, such as budgeting and loans.

Sorry - that's complete twaddle.

justanothermum

:A This is one of the best motivational ideas I have seen in a long time. Thank you for sharing it . Keep up the good work. :A:T

LooniesMum wrote: »

We have 5 and 7 year old boys. About a year ago we found the sticker reward system (full sticker chart = prize) just wasn't motivating them anymore. I gave each of them a jar with their name on instead, in which they could collect pennies. Pennies are gained for good behavior and lost for bad behavior. Regular pennies are earned for completing homework or little jobs around the house. Surprise pennies are earned when we feel they deserve a reward, e.g. being helpful without being asked. About once a week they can visit "Mummy's shop" with their pennies. The shop has small treats in it and occasionally small toys. Toys cost more than treats, so they may choose to limit spending on sweets or chocolate in order to save up for a toy (e.g I got a load of second hand Go-gos from Ebay and packaged them in 3s for 50p !). Initially just a reward system, we found it helped advance their counting skills, allowed us to demonstrate "getting change" and also the concept of saving up. We've been doing this for nearly a year and it still works just as well as at the beginning.

One day when our youngest cried out "Mummy, can't you make the things in your shop less money?!" we knew there was a valuable lesson being taught! Now he accepts he has to wait longer if he doesn't have enough money. Though to keep them motivated I always have a few things that they can afford!

They both also like looking through toy catalogues, and that helps motivate them to save up for longer if they've been given money for birthdays.

Oh - and during the summer we showed them how much ice creams cost from the ice cream man vs how much they cost in the supermarket. I bought some nice ones for my "shop" and they were allowed to buy one from me after tea (not every day!). That helped reduce the frequent requests for ice creams when we were out!:)

Cinders2001

LooniesMum wrote: »

We have 5 and 7 year old boys....
"Mummy's shop" with their pennies.... One day when our youngest cried out "Mummy, can't you make the things in your shop less money?!" we knew there was a valuable lesson being taught! Now he accepts he has to wait longer if he doesn't have enough money...
the ice cream man v.s how much they cost in the supermarket. I bought some nice ones for my "shop" and they were allowed to buy one from me after tea (not every day!). That helped reduce the frequent requests for ice creams when we were out!:)

Well all I can say is, Well done you!
What a practical way to help them!
I may take a leaf out of your book.
Thank you for sharing that.