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How To Invest and Save Money
Britt Erica Tunick is an award winning financial journalist who has spent the past 17 years writing about virtually every aspect of finance. She has mastered the art of boiling down complicated financial topics for readers to understand. |
Teaching young children about the value of money is a lesson that will grow with them throughout life. You're Never Too Young to Learn the Value of Money By Britt Erica Tunick Anyone who has children likely has a lengthy list of things they do not want their kids exposed to from language, to R-rated movies and far more serious things, the list goes on and on. When it comes to money, however, the younger children are exposed to the idea of saving the better. Most children seem to be born with innate knowledge about how to get their parents and grandparents to buy them the things they want. But, as every parent knows, simply giving a child everything they ask for is not a good thing. Little children rarely understand the relationship between money and the things they want. If your kids are old enough to ask for the things they want, instead of simply giving in, why not start teaching them about money and setting goals. One of the easiest ways to start doing this with young children is by identifying an item they want and then using a piggy bank to start saving for that item. While they may be too young to start performing weekly chores in exchange for an allowance, an easy way to start teaching about the value of money is to reward helpful behavior, such as cleaning up their own toys, with a quarter which can be jointly deposited into the bank. By continuously revisiting the bank and counting its holdings as the savings grows, all the while explaining how their savings compares to the cost of what they want, children can be taught that saving is a gradual process that eventually gets you to a goal. Perhaps even more importantly, saving for a goal teaches children at an early age that things you work hard for are often far more rewarding than those that are simply handed to you. The value of money can constantly be reinforced through daily errands, such as a trip to the grocery store where you can take the time to explain how much each item costs. As children get older, lessons about money and saving should become more elaborate and interactive. For preschool aged children, the simple act of learning that money has value is an important foundation that can be gradually built upon. |
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