How to get your kids to care about budgeting
Part of raising your kids is preparing them to become financially independent and manage their finances. And that includes teaching them how to budget.
But that doesn’t have to be a boring lecture on how to manage money. Instead, you can involve your kids in your monthly planning so they learn from experience.
You can start by teaching your kids about budgeting in a fun way (see below) and later help your child create and manage their own budgets.
Here are three ways you can involve your kids:
1. Explain your budget to your kids
Show your kids your monthly budget (or parts of it) and explain the different parts, like income, expenses and investments. This will teach them that you have a limited income and that your spending can’t exceed that.
It will also teach them about expenses they’re probably unaware of, like insurance and retirement savings.
To keep them interested, let them choose how to spend part of your budget.
Even small choices like whether they want to attend a live event or eat out at a restaurant can teach them about the choices adults make when managing their finances.
2. Take your younger kids shopping with you
You can make grocery shopping fun for your younger kids by giving them more control.
For example, let them add up the cost of everything you put into the trolley. When it reaches a certain value, they must say ‘stop’.
If they call stop and you still need a few essentials, they must work out how much those essentials will cost. Then, to stay within budget, they either need to find cheaper items or decide what must go back on the shelf.
If you’re under budget, they can work out by how much and decide what treat to get for that amount.
This will teach them about budgets in a fun way. They’ll also learn more about what groceries cost and which grocery or cleaning items are essential.
3. Let your kids manage their own expenses
You can give your kids more financial freedom by letting them pay for their own things. This means that instead of giving them pocket money, you give them an allowance that covers their expenditure on clothes, data, entertainment, meals with friends and anything else they want.
You can then draw up a budget together and work out how much money they have for every different item.
It’s up to you whether you give them the freedom to spend the money as they wish or insist they stick to the budget. Either way, they’ll learn what things cost and that they run out of money if they don’t plan.
You can also set rules, like they can’t ask for more money unless they can prove they need it. That means they must keep track of their spending and compare it to the budgeted items to show you exactly where they’re running short.
And this means they’ll care about budgeting.
Teach your kids about managing money with FLX. Your kids can set a savings target, use a linked prepaid Mastercard and keep track of their spending. Learn more about the FLX App here.
This is general advice. Read the PDSs & TMDs at www.flexischools.com.au/legal before deciding if FLX is right for you. The FLX Services & Flexischools are provided by InLoop Pty Ltd ABN 27 114 508 771 AFSL 471558 (trading as Flexischools). The FLX Prepaid Mastercard is issued by EML Payment Solutions Limited ABN 30 131 436 532 AFSL 404131 pursuant to license by Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte. Ltd.