A few everyday ideas……

You might remember that I sent you an earlier email about children’s attitudes to money.

I just thought I’d send you a few ideas about how you can use everyday situations to teach children about money.

(Whether or not you have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews or friends with children, you may find these ideas interesting. They might also help you understand how you developed your attitudes to money.)

Doing the shopping

Believe it or not, you can begin a child’s education about money before they can even speak.

When you take your children shopping, verbalise your buying decisions. Whether they can understand EXACTLY what you’re talking about or not, they’ll learn that you don’t just buy things because you want them.

For example, if you buy extra toilet paper because it’s on special you could say: “we’ll get 2 packs of toilet paper instead of one this week because they’re on special. That means we’ll pay less than usual and toilet paper is something we use every day.”

This shows that you’re not just buying extra because it’s on special, but it’s also an item you use a lot.

Make a habit of taking a list and if your child is able to read, before you put things into your trolley ask your child to help you check if they are on the list.

If you buy something that is not on the list explain why. Perhaps it’s something you know you use regularly but forgot to write down, or maybe it’s a special treat.

Watching television

Children (and quite a few adults) often believe everything they see on television. Not just when they watch programs, but also when they watch advertisements.

It is important to introduce children to a habit of questioning what they see. That way they will learn to analyse the difference between fact and fiction.

When you watch TV with a child, question what they are seeing without encouraging sarcasm or cynicism. For instance, let’s say you see an advertisement that shows a child being able to run at super speed after eating a snack bar. Ask the child you’re watching TV with, if they think that will really happen if they eat that snack bar.

Your child demands something they see on television or in the shopping centre

Depending upon their age, children often don’t understand that the money has to come from somewhere and we can’t always have what we want.

If the child is quite young, you may find that once you have said no and they have argued or thrown a tantrum, they will forget they wanted the item in the first place.

However, for older children, if your child earns an allowance for jobs or chores around the house, sit down with them and work out how they might be able to save for it.

Make sure you work out a plan that won’t take them more than a few weeks to work out so they can see a result fairly quickly.

If it’s a more expensive item, perhaps they could put it on a birthday or christmas wish list. Perhaps you could work out a deal where you agree that you will match what they save or work out a reasonable split of the cost.

Most importantly, think about how you talk about money around children and think about what your attitude and behaviour is teaching them.

It may seem odd, but my Super Secrets To Real Estate Wealth course contains lots of tips and ideas such as these, to teach your children about managing money and investing. So many people have told me that they have learnt much more through the course than just property investing.

Some have learnt about business, goal setting, planning and of course teaching their children important money and financial skills.

It truly is the most comprehensive real estate investing course available in Australia today and you’ll probably also learn a lot more than straight property investment!

Warm Regards

Hans Jakobi – Your Wealth Coach®
Real Estate Secrets