This pandemic has challenged us all in many ways but as Albert Einstein said, "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." A lot of folks have taken the extra time with their families and started learning new skills. Some financially educated parents are taking this as an opportunity to teach their kids personal finance concepts to be responsible. As we all know, nothing worth doing is easy; it takes consistent efforts to become good at managing money. Here are three major keys to do so:
1.) Budget and Save For Goals
Open a savings account instead of handing them cash for them to sow away in a sock drawer. Ask them questions about what they want or the goals they have. Have them print a picture of an item or activity they want to save for, to make them more hesitant to spend money because it means it will take them longer to achieve their goals.
2.) Investing
Show them the transaction history in their savings account, they most likely didn't know that most savings accounts will pay you for keeping your money with them ( this consist of pennies due to deposit rates being so low right now). This will start to turn their wheels in the benefits of leaving your money alone to grow and give you the maximum benefits in the long run. Seeing your kids excited about saving money will be a great feeling as a parent.
3.) Charity
We've all heard the term; Sharing Is Caring. Any parent wants their child to have empathy for others. Personally, I believe teaching children the true value of money is through giving back. Learning how to donate money (or time) to causes they believe in early on will make them better, more considerate, adults in the future.
Bob Marley said, "You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only option." Years from now when they look back on this historic time they remember how we came together as a community and helped each other. Everyone, wants to get back to normal but I believe we are moving into a new age where we are more considerate of our neighbors, and actually care about the well being of others and not just ourselves.
Holt, Will. “3 Ways To Teach Your Kids Personal Finance.” financialsymmetry.com. Financial Symmetry, 22 Jun. 2020. Web. 2 Jul. 2020.