A Financial Exercise For Your Kids

(I love giving my blogs a title, it is so fun)

Train your child about how to manage their money!  I know a lot of us have grown up thinking that our finances are a private thing and should not be discussed with our children.  I have learned that this is not true and can actually hurt our children in the long run.  Try this exercise, it really opened up the eyes of my 3 oldest children.

• Give your child an amount of money, say $50.
• Give them a piece of paper and a pencil
• Go to a store like TJMaxx (what a great store)
• Have them pick out the things that they wish they could buy
• Have them try on the clothes they like.
• Now that they have a basket full of things, have them pick out their favorite items.
• Then have them write down the prices of those items and add them together (great math lesson)
• Now only allow them to purchase those items they can buy with their $50 and don’t forget the tax. (we always just figure 10% tax because then they always have enough)

This exercise will show them the value of money and how they have to pick and choose wisely.  After adding up all of the items in my daughters basket, she stated that she was amazed at how fast $50 was spent.

Next time you go school clothes shopping, try this.  Your child will see the value of money and believe me, this exercise will open up a great dialogue about how much things really do cost.

1 Peter 5:2a “Be shepherds of God’s flock, that is under your care, serving as overseers not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money but eager to serve…….”